Clemson’s 2025 recruitment class, ranked in the top 30, arrived on campus within the past month.
Now that the newcomers are focused on getting to work, it’s time for head coach Dabo Swinney to ramp up the recruiting in the next class, 2026.
Currently, the Tigers have four commits on offense and one on the defensive side of the ball. The class ranks as the No. 16 recruiting class in the nation.
Current Commits
The earliest commit of this class came in July of last year, four-star QB Tait Reynolds. He’s ranked as the No. 285 player in the nation, the No. 18 QB, and the No. 1 player in the state of Arizona, per 247Sports Composite. Reynolds is a two-sport athlete recruited mainly for football but will also be on the Clemson Baseball team. Initially, he made an early commitment to Arizona State for baseball but backed out on it once Clemson Football offered. Reynolds plans to play baseball and football, even with spring practices overlapping with the baseball team.
The second commit came from the lone defensive recruit in Clemson’s 2026 class, four-star Shavar Young Jr. However, 247Sports lists him as an athlete because he plays both sides of the ball. The young prospect is ranked as the No. 225 player in the nation, the No. 16 ATH in the country, and the No. 8 player in Tennessee, per 247Sports Composite.
Shortly after Shavar Young Jr.’s commitment, there would be a second QB to pledge to Clemson’s program. Three-star QB Brock Bradley committed the same week he received his offer from Clemson. The Birmingham, Alabama native helped Spain Park High School creep back into relevance, leading the team to the Playoffs in his first year as a starter. He continued to improve following his sophomore campaign, accounting for 2,806 offensive yards and 38 touchdowns and helped them achieve a 12-1 record. Unfortunately, they would lose in the Quarterfinals of the 2024 AHSAA Football Playoffs. Keep an eye on this kid in his senior year!
Clemson and Dabo Swinney went three months without another commit following Bradley. However, with the 2024-2025 college football season ending, recruiting has become a significant priority for the Tigers after suffering seven decommitments in the previous cycle.
West Virginia native WR Tayveon Wilson committed to the Tigers at the end of November. While he is listed as a wide receiver, the six-foot-three, 205-pound recruit will play the tight end position in Tigertown. He chose Clemson over Virginia Tech, Penn State and more. The three-star recruit ranks as the No. 507 player nationally, the No. 76 player at his position, and the No. 1 player in his state, per 247Sports Composite. The wideout hit the field in 11 of his 13 games in the 2024 season, recording 31 receptions for 515 yards and three touchdowns. He added 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 13 carries out of the backfield, previewing his potential versatility.
The most recent commit came from three-star OT Braden Wilmes, making him the first offensive lineman to commit to Clemson in the 2026 class. But with how OL coach Matt Luke has been moving this offseason, expect many more where that came from. The six-foot-eight, 280-pound lineman chose Clemson over Duke, Arkansas, Iowa State, Florida State and more.
Recruits trending towards Clemson
Four-star EDGE Khamari Brooks is one of the focus points in recruiting right now, as he recently announced that he’d be deciding on three final schools: Clemson, Alabama, and Georgia. While he’s from Bogart, Georgia, right outside of Athens, the Tigers have the most defensive linemen picked in the first round since 2015, so it’s still very possible that Dabo Swinney could land the recruit. Brooks is a pure athlete, playing TE and EDGE at six-foot-four, 220-pounds. He ranks as the No. 155 recruit nationally, the No. 11 EDGE, and the No. 19 player in Georgia, per 247Sports Composite.
Matt Luke’s visits to recruits have tremendously affected multiple recruits, specifically Maxwell Riley. The 280-pound offensive lineman announced his final two schools–Clemson and Ohio State– after taking visits and recently being visited by coach Luke at his local gym. Riley is an Ohio native and is currently crystal-balled to Ohio State, but nothing is ever certain in high school recruiting. The junior is ranked as the No. 98 player in the country, the No. 8 OT, and the No. 3 player in Ohio, per 247Sports Composite.
With top 10 safety J’Zavien Currence committing to rival school South Carolina over Clemson, it was time to key in on other guys the Tigers had offered in the position group. One of those guys is Kaden Gebhardt, a three-star safety from Ohio. 30 different schools have offered Gebhardt, but he looks to be eyeing an early commitment like Khamari Brooks as he released his top four schools this past Tuesday– Clemson, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The six-foot-two safety put up 94 tackles, six tackles for a loss, five pass deflections and two interceptions in his junior campaign.
Most recently, borderline five-star IOL Darius Gray announced his schedule for official visits over the summer. He’ll first visit Clemson of all the schools from May 31st to June 2nd. The four schools he’ll see following the Tigers are Tennessee, LSU, Penn State and South Carolina. As a junior this year, he was named to the Navy All-American Bowl and made the MaxPreps Sophomore All-American team the previous season. The six-foot-three, 285-pound lineman ranks as the No. 31 player nationally, the No. 3 IOL and the No. 2 player in Virginia, per 247Sports Composite.
Head coach Swinney and his staff have visited a multitude of other Clemson recruits over the past month or so as well. These recruits include but aren’t limited to: Five-star Tyler Atkinson, four-star Bryce Perry-Wright and four-star Cam Brooks.
Offensive line coach Matt Luke has also made over 10 visits to OL recruits, whether it was at their home, gym or school.
