Five players Clemson should offer this week
The Clemson Tigers have not extended any offers to 2025 recruits yet - but we expect that to change this week. Historically, the Tigers have pushed out a wave of offers in early June. Last year, 2024 five-star linebacker Sammy Brown was the program's first offer in March, followed by four-star (current commit) Hevin Brown-Shuler.Here are five prospects we think the Tigers should include in their initial wave of offers that have been in contact with the program over the past year. David Sanders - He's a consensus top-three player in the nation and the highest-ranked North Carolina native (On3 industry consensus) since Dexter Lawrence was No. 2 in the 2016 class. Sanders is already 6'6, 250 pounds, and has built a relationship with Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin. Due to his rare combination of size and advanced skillset, Sanders is a strong candidate to receive the program's first overall offer in the 2025 class. London Merritt - He included Clemson in his top 12 schools list today, even though he doesn't have an offer yet. He visited Clemson in the spring and is working on building a relationship with coach Lemanski Hall - who recruited his teammate AJ Hoffler throughout the past year. Clemson has a good chance with Merritt, who is an explosive Edge with good bend and offers from a bevy of Power Five programs. He's a strong candidate to be the program's top defensive lineman on the board in this cycle. Clemson should officially make him a priority this week.Antwann Hill - He's a top-three quarterback in the 2025 class and drew a visit from new Clemson OC Garrett Riley earlier this spring. Hill has a big arm and would fit Clemson's new-look offensive scheme brilliantly with his ability to execute downfield.Ryan Ghea - Ghea is a consensus top-250 prospect with a 6'5, 230-pound frame that coach Kyle Richardson could develop into a threat over the middle of the field. Ghea visited Death Valley for a game in the fall and told us that he was impressed with Clemson's usage of his position in the passing game. The Tigers have a solid chance to land Ghea and should prioritize him this week.Amare Adams - He's the top-ranked prospect in South Carolina and is a top 130 national recruit. The defensive lineman has visited Clemson multiple times since September. The Gamecocks are in the mix to land him, but Clemson could jump into contention by prioritizing Adams and including him among their first offers in the class.
Who could be included in Clemson's first wave of 2025 offers?
The Clemson Tigers have been busy on the recruiting trail, visiting prospects nationwide as they prepare for a weekend of 2024 official visits in early June. They will extend their first offers in the 2025 class early this summer.The Tigers have been quite active with several 2025 prospects, even though they won't send out any offers for a few more weeks. Here are 17 recruits I expect to be top candidates for the initial wave of offers:Quarterback: I stopped by Houston County high school last week, the home of 2025 four-star Antwann Hill. He told me that Garrett Riley visited the school to see him. Hill has a strong, live arm with several future Division I targets at receiver in the Houston offense. The school is primarily known for baseball - but has a chance to be a top 100 national football program this year with Hill returning as a starter. Riley is deeply interested in Hill, who was once rumored to be a UGA lean. Recently, those rumors have begun to disperse, and Clemson is a school rising in this recruitment. We have a video interview with Hill explaining his relationship with the Tigers coming later this week.Additionally, I expect four-star quarterbacks George MacIntyre and Ryan Montgomery to be solid options for a quarterback offer in this opening wave.Running back: Four-star Lee County running back Ousmane Kromah gushed about his early relationship with Clemson and has spent time on campus with CJ Spiller. Many people in the industry think a battle is shaping up between UGA and Alabama, but Clemson is firmly cemented in the dark horse spot here and will likely make a run at Kromah.Tight end: Ryan Ghea is a 6'6 tight end at Milton High School (Ga.) with a massive catch radius. He has taken multiple visits to Clemson, and Dabo Swinney stopped by the school personally in March. I would be surprised if Ghea wasn't one of the first Clemson offers in this class. Four-star tight end Emaree Winston is another good option here, and will visit the program in early June. Offensive line: David Sanders is the No. 1 overall prospect in the nation. He spoke well of the Tigers during the Under Armour camp in February, and there's no doubt Clemson will want to be officially in the running for his services. Juan Gaston, a massive lineman from Westlake (Ga.) - the same school as the Terrell brothers, caught Clemson's eye a while ago. I'd be surprised if they didn't offer him this summer. Cortez Smith from Parkview High School (Ga.) is a UGA lean- but would be a good character and scheme fit at Clemson. Nicolai Brooks (four-star that just moved to Iowa) and Chauncey Gooden (four-star from Nashville) are other prospects that have reciprocated interest in the Tigers. Still, I'm not as sure they'll receive offers from Clemson this summer as I am with the others.Defensive line: Jared Smith (four-star from Alabama) has excellent length and pass-rush ability. Clemson hasn't turned up the heat in his recruitment yet, but I expect they will over the coming months. Four-star London Merritt (Woodward, Ga.) has visited during the spring and is impressed with Clemson's defensive line tradition. I consider him a sure bet to pick up an offer from the Tigers soon. Also, in-state star Amare Adams has visited Clemson multiple times. He's the top player in the area, so it makes sense for Clemson to pursue him.Defensive back: Five-star Anquon Fegans (Alabama) was the top 2025 prospect in town for the Clemson spring game. Even though he didn't pick up an offer then, I still expect Clemson to extend one this summer, despite his commitment to USC. Dylan Lewis is a four-star from Milton, Ga. He's a Tennessee lean but has visited Clemson this spring. I think the Tigers could make a late run at him before Lewis tries to commit to a program later in the summer. Finally, four-star LSU commit Jaylen Bell is a dark horse offer candidate here. He plans to camp at Clemson in June, and I feel his recruitment isn't fully closed yet. Bell could pick up an offer if the Tigers like him at the camp. He already has a relationship with Clemson cornerback coach Mike Reed through Bell's father.
Three-and-Out: Houston, Tight Ends, and Timelines
Luke's been on the road in Georgia this week, checking in on some of the state's top prospects as Clemson continues to target the best players in the Peach State.
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Even though Clemson has not extended their first offer in the 2025 class, Dabo Swinney’s coaching staff has focused on laying the groundwork with elite sophomores in the southeast.
