Clemson football recruiting for 2022 is starting to pick up steam. The Tigers notoriously offer far fewer prospects than most Power 5 schools and this year is no different. To date, Coach Dabo Swinney and his staff have offered 49 prospects. Compare this to National Champion Alabama (176) and Ohio State (94), and Clemson is right on track.
The TIgers are deep at every position on their roster. Are they deep with 4- and 5-star talent at every position? No. The one position of concern is at quarterback.
Looking at Clemson’s roster, DJ Uiagalelei is firmly entrenched as the starter but who is behind him. The backups are loaded with potential and the spring should find some separation but at this point, one would expect Taisun Phommachahn to step up and be “that guy”. The 6-3 220 Phommachanh has the size and the arm strength to excel but hasn’t really had the chance to show his talents. He passed for over 5000 yards and 48 touchdowns in his high school career, adding in 20 rushing touchdowns. The talent is there, the reps have not been.
Hunter Helms showed promise in his limited reps, highlighted by a two-touchdown outing against Georgia Tech last year. In a 3-year high school career, Helms passed for over 9,000 yards, including 4,108 as a senior to go along with 48 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. As with Taisun, the talent is there, but not the reps…..yet.
The 2021 class brings in three interesting prospects, highlighted by 4-star two-sport star Bubba Chandler. The Tigers are also bringing in two other quarterbacks, Will Taylor and Billy Wiles. WIles, 6-3 200, led his team to the VHSL Class 5 State Championship game in 2019. He previously had been committed to Tulane but when Clemson came calling with a PWO offer, he decided on the Tigers.
Will Taylor, also a 2-sport athlete, helped lead Dutch Fork to it’s 5th straight 5A Championship, passing for over 2000 yards, 21 touchdowns and adding 11 rushing touchdowns. Taylor, at 5-10 160, is a 3-star dual threat but don’t put it past Tony Elliott to possibly move this talent to the slot or WR.
Bring on 2022 and the Tigers have currently offered only two quarterbacks……so far. Clemson’s main target is 6-2 185 4-star Ty Simpson out of Martin Tennessee. Simpson currently has 37 offers and is reportedly deciding between Clemson, Alabama and home state Tennessee. Simpson plans to announce his decision on February 19th, at 3pm Eastern Time.
The other Clemson quarterback offer is 4-star Braden Davis out of Middletown, Delaware. Davis, 6-5 195, has 27 offers to date and that list will probably grow before he makes his decision. Davis is ranked as the #1 player in the state of Delaware and the 7th best Dual-Threat quarterback in the country in the 2022 class.
Recruiting will begin to pick up heading into spring practice. Hold on.
