Class Of 2020 DT Demonte Capehart Signs Letter Of Intent

Five star defensive tackle Demonte Capehart is now officially a Tiger. The nations 4th best DT prospect per the 247 Composite Rankings signed his Letter of Intent today. He is from Hartsville, SC and played his first 3 seasons of high school ball at Hartsville High, before transferring to IMG for his senior season. The Composite has him as the 35th best player in the country, and the 6th best in SC.

Capehart committed to Clemson back in June of 2018, and was the first commitment of the 2020 class. With him the Tigers added a major piece that will help solidify the interior of the defensive line for the next few seasons. At a camp in Charlotte before his junior season, he ran a 4.89 40 at 6’5 and 275 pounds. He is a versatile guy with the kind of athleticism that allowed him to play inside and outside at times.

Playing a national schedule at IMG, he was often times the best player on the field, and is now up to 290 pounds, but moves like he is 40 pounds lighter. Some at IMG consider him to be the best DL prospect to ever come through the program. He already plays with good technique and has a multitude of moves in his arsenal he uses to rush the passer. He finished his senior season with 6 sacks and 16 TFL, and was named to the 2019 Sports Illustrated All American team. Todd Bates was the lead recruiter.

Check out some of his junior highlights from Hartsville.

QT’s Take:

Going to IMG was such a good move for Clemson and Capehart. Demonte moved from a South Carolina player with a lot talent, but needing a lot of work to refine his craft to a legit DT monster. Capehart went through the often rough transition of playing as a jumbo athlete to someone who knows how to play with leverage and can grind on the interior.

Having watched a number of IMG games, Capehart still has room to improve, but the 5* isn’t about potential and talent. Capehart has moved very good players and disrupted gameplans against some of the best competition in the country. Capehart is also all of 6’4.5 with room to fill in more upper body strength, which is the last piece of the puzzle for his progression. He also plays a bit too high at times, but his technique has improved dramatically. Whereas Williams is all about short space quickness, Capehart has better overall speed and a bit more length.

Signing Capehart and then having him progress from a top 50-100 player into a 5* is not fair for the ACC and the rest of the nation. The rich get richer.