2019 Clemson Football Recruiting: OL Kaleb Boateng Signs Letter of Intent

Clemson added Kaleb Boateng to their 2019 recruiting class today. Boateng comes to Clemson from Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Fort Lauderdale). The 3-star OT measures at 6’3’’ 293lb and is rated as the #76 OT in the 2019 class and #918 player overall per the 247Sports Composite®. Clemson was a late entrant into his recruitment but managed to steal him out of South Florida at the last second.

Boateng’s lead recruiter is listed as Robbie Caldwell, but QT has said that this is a Brent Venables find. He chose the Tigers over offers from Pittsburgh, Maryland, FAU and Arizona.

Boateng will be discussed in the short term as the guy who multiple Clemson sites were teasing as the “surprise commitment” of early signing day, and what a great surprise he is. Clemson’s scholarship distribution leaves the team thin along the offensive line in the next 2-3 years but Boateng will help to address that weakness. He, in my opinion, is a much better take than the previously pursued Cooper Dawson of Jimmy Fritzsche. He separates himself from those two recruits because he already has size and OL experience. Boateng will need to work hard to reshape his body and refine his technique, but he will be able to play in 2020 if a rash of injuries were to occur. He also appears to have the body type that will allow him to cross train at tackle and guard – another big plus. The great news is that he plans to enroll at Clemson in January. That being said, I still expect him to redshirt next season and be a power hour transformation.

Take a look at Boateng’s hudl film here and share your thoughts in the comments below.

QT’s Take:

Boateng is a developmental prospect who most likely projects inside at the college level. Clemson beat Arizona, Maryland, and Florida Atlantic for his commitment. This was a fallback candidate on the Clemson board, but is a superior prospect to Dawson and Fritz right now. Kaleb is already carrying 290 pounds and doesn’t need to gain 40-50 pounds. This was a Brent Venables find deep in South Florida.

It is hard to project Olineman and I still need to dig into Kaleb further, but here are a few preliminary thoughts. It is great that he will enroll early and get acclimated. The first positive that jumps off the screen is Boateng’s punch. His level of competition isn’t great, but he gets a good number of pancakes regardless. He needs to work on his lateral movement and his technique/steps/footwork will need to improve, but a transition inside will help with some of that. Needs to improve his strength and get his pad level down.