Top in-state recruit commits to Clemson over South Carolina, Georgia, and others

Four-star junior defensive lineman Amare Adams‍ has committed to Clemson. The 6’6, 250-pound recruit hails from South Florence High School in Lake City, South Carolina.

Adams has long been rated the top 2025 recruit in the state. He’s the nation's consensus No. 14 defensive lineman and a top-125 overall prospect.

Over the past year, Adams visited Death Valley frequently. He came to campus in April, June, and again in September for the game against Florida State. Adams visited South Carolina nine times, and the Gamecocks were expected to land him throughout the majority of his recruitment process. They were the first school to offer him.

Clemson surged in the four-star’s recruitment in the weeks leading up to his Dec. 3 commitment date and became the last-minute favorite to land him after several recruiting analysts placed “crystal ball predictions” in favor of Clemson earlier this week.

In the past nine days, Clemson defeated the Gamecocks for the eighth time in the past nine years and won a recruiting battle for the top player in the state.

After his April visit to Clemson, Adams told Clemson Sports Talk he was surprised the program doesn’t bring in many transfers and that they believe in developing freshmen. He spoke positively of Coach Eason, the family environment, and Clemson’s focus on the future after football.

The four-star picked up an offer from Clemson during a camp in June. He was among the program’s initial wave of offers in the 2025 class and has been a critical target since he was an underclassman.

Adams was spotted wearing Clemson gear during a state championship game appearance earlier this week. Now, he’s the latest big-time defensive lineman to commit to the program. The South Carolina native is yet another four-star Nick Eason brought to Clemson in his short tenure with the program.

Eason recruited five-star defender Peter Woods‍, four-star TJ Parker, four-star Victor Burley‍, four-star Stephiylan Green‍, and four-star AJ Hoffler‍ in the 2023 class alongside 2024 four-stars Hevin Brown-Shuler‍ and Champ Thompson‍.

Clemson’s 2025 class now ranks ninth in the nation in the consensus rankings and first in the ACC with a 91.34 rating. The class includes Adams, four-star running back Gideon Davidson‍, four-star quarterback Blake Hebert‍, four-star tight end Logan Brooking‍, four-star offensive lineman Easton Ware‍, and three-star wide receiver JuJu Preston‍.

Check out some highlights from Clemson’s latest commit: