In years past, the Clemson offensive line was hit or miss. Clemson rarely was able to bring in the best recruits. The trenches is what wins games, on both sides of the ball. The offensive line is the cog that makes the offense run.
Last year, Clemson brought in five talented big bodies on the offensive line. Robbie Caldwell has a ton of talent to work with. Although the tigers lost four starters on the offensive line, Clemson is still expected to have a top notch offensive line. Football gurus love to use the word “reload” when teams lose great players and plug in the next group waiting their turn.
For the most part, offensive linemen routinely take a year or two to get to physical maturity going from the high school level to the next level. In Clemson’s case, they were used to bringing in 2 and 3-star talent and growing them into the position after a couple of years. There were exceptions. Mitch Hyatt comes to mind. Between 2007 and 2019, Clemson had 15 4-star offensive linemen sign with Clemson, with Hyatt and Jackson Carmen being the lone 5-star signees. In 13 years, the tigers have struggled to land top talent at the offensive line position. Out of those 15, two (Kenneth Page and JK Kay) never even donned a uniform, one (Jake Fruhmorgen transferred), and DJ Reader moved to the defensive line, leaving a grand total of 11 4 and 5-star linemen manning the trenches.
Granted, don’t underestimate the coaching ability of Robbie Caldwell. “Stars” are not everything when it comes to talent. Coaching is a major part of the offensive line. Gage Cervenka moved over from the defensive line and turned into a road grader in his own right. Tremayne Anchrum was “only” a 3-star coming out of high school. Justin Falcinelli was also “just” a 3-star, and there are many others that follow this logic. When you look at teams like Alabama and Georgia, teams traditionally getting the elite OL talent and focusing on the running game, getting the 4 and 5-star talent to start off with has paid massive dividends.
Enter the 2020 and 2021 offensive line classes for the tigers.
In 2020, Clemson brought in five offensive linemen, four of which are of the 4-star talent according to the “recruiting gurus”. Only John Williams was rated a 3-star but will be one of those kids Coach Caldwell will get 4-star production out of. The 2020 class averages right at 6-5 296 across the line, with Walker Parks being “the baby” coming in around 275. The guys in the trenches on the offensive side of the ball are going to be solid for the next few years.
Enter the 2021 class. Last night, Clemson got a surprise commitment from big Dietrick Pennington out of Cordova, Tennessee. It probably wasn’t a surprise inside the coaching staff but to the people that follow and report on recruiting, it was a total surprise. Pennington joins fellow four-star OL commitments C Ryan Linthicum and OG Marcus Tate. This class might not be done. Four-star talents Tristan Leigh and Nolan Rucci have Clemson in their final lists of college choices. Never count the tigers out.
In summary, in the last two classes, Clemson has brought in EIGHT offensive linemen that average right at 6-5 300, seven of which are considered of the 4-star talent variety. In the 13 years previous to 2020, the tigers brought in 11 4-stars that actually played on the offensive line in the valley. DJ Uiagalelei appreciates them. Demarckus Bowman will thank them.
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