The #1 player in the country in the 2021 class, Korey Foreman of Corona, California, made an unofficial visit to Clemson over the weekend. If the stars line up, and Foreman becomes a Clemson Tiger, where does this put the Tigers 2021 recruiting class. One word — Elite
Foreman would give the tigers 7 commitments on the defensive side of the ball. He is a 5-star player, the other 6 are all rated 4-stars. Offensively, the Tigers have 10 commitments, including three 4-star offensive linemen, the #1 TE, the #1 running back, and three very talented 4-star wide receivers. I know what you’re going to say. Dabo doesn’t care about “stars”. Well, that’s not totally true. No team ever won a national championship with a bunch of 2 and 3 star rated players. In their own way, the staff ranks their recruits and willing to bet it follows along the same path as recruiting analysts that rank players for a living.
Looking at the 2021 recruiting class is like looking at an all-star team. These guys are coming to Clemson ready to challenge for playing time. The 2020 class was ranked #1 in the country. This group is led by Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy on the defensive side and DJ Uiagalelei on the offensive side. This class had 5 5-stars sign on the dotted line, albeit losing RB Demarckus Bowman to the transfer portal. It’s not often Clemson loses 5-star freshman recruits. 2020 has so many twists and turns.
Regarding the 2021 incoming class (and Clemson isn’t done yet), the lowest rated player on the team is NC DE Zaire Patterson (6-6 225). He is ranked 271st overall by ESPN. As a senior he had 129 tackles in 12 games, including 9 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. These are gaudy stats for a player ranked where he is. Flashback: Class of 2015, Clelin Ferrell, 6-5 225, ranked 136th in the country.
Trenton Simpson had a strong desire to play for Clemson. He committed to Auburn in June 2020, but when a spot came open at Clemson, it didn’t take him long to decommit from one tiger team and commit to the Clemson Tigers. This young linebacker has already made his presence known on the tiger defense. There are two top notch linebackers coming in next year that will also be looking to come in and make a splash. Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., is ranked as the top linebacker in the country and the 7th overall player in the 2021 class. Pair him up with the other linebacker in this class, Barrett Carter out of Suwanee, Georgia, and the tigers are set for several years to come. Oh, and let’s not forget big DT Payton Page, one of the top players at his position in this class.
This brings us back to Korey Foreman. Page and Foreman built up a solid relationship, which we believe played a big part in his previous commitment to the Tigers. Things have come full circle, and the possibility of Foreman coming back into the fold is a reality. USC (the real one), LSU and Georgia have been thrown out there as a final landing destination, but if you watched the Clemsonsportsnews show from the Lodge last Friday night, you’d have seen a guy that looked like he was right at home. If he was leaning towards USC or LSU, why would Foreman and his family come to Clemson on an unofficial visit, all the way across the country? They wanted a closer look at Clemson, that’s why.
Two other big time players are looking at Clemson. Nyland Green, the #5 cornerback in the country, and Tristan Leigh, the #4 ranked OL in the country still have Clemson on their minds along with a ton of other Power 5 teams.
Clemson currently sits at #4 in the 2021 College Football Recruiting rankings. If the Tigers were able to land Foreman, Green, and Leigh, it might catapult them up a couple of notches in the rankings. However, Coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t need rankings from ESPN or 247 to tell him about his class. The Tigers are set to reel in another top 5 recruiting class in 2021. Stay tuned. (2022 is off to a good start with two highly touted offensive linemen.).
