Recruiting Update: 5-star run still not over

The last few weeks of Clemson recruiting have been absolute insanity. The program’s last 4 commitments have all been 5-star prospects, and 3 of them are rated inside the top 20 of 24/7’s composite rankings. Just this month, the Tigers have been able to land both their top QB target and the #1 QB in the country in DJ Uiagalelei and their top RB target Demarkcus Bowman out of Florida.

Just days before Uiagalelei was set to make his decision public, Bowman surprised many by dropping his commitment video. Clemson beat out UF and UGA for his verbal despite Bowman’s HS having a heavy influence of the former.

Then on Sunday, Uiagalelei committed and sent the recruiting world into a frenzy. The Polynesian prospect had begun to scare many Clemson fans through his late interest in Oregon, but behind the scenes he had been committed since the Spring game. These pick-ups give Clemson a strong shot at the top overall class, and the impact of this month has already been felt on a national recruiting scale. But even with these huge additions, the fun is likely still not over for the month of May...

Myles Murphy sets Decision date

The #1 player in Georgia, and top 10 prospect nationally per 24/7 Sports, Myles Murphy publicly announced his decision date for May 17th. Clemson has long led in this recruitment, and the coaching staff did a masterful job of keeping it under the radar for so long. UGA was thought to be the leader for months, however, at a recent Opening regional Murphy’s true interests were revealed. Clemson and Auburn were arguably both in better position than Georgia. It shocked many within that fanbase and likely UGA’s coaching staff as well. The damage has been done, and Murphy decided to move up his decision from August, and that heavily favors Clemson. My pick is on Clemson to land a player who is in my opinion the top Defensive End prospect in 2020.

Bryan Bresee’s ridiculous showing at the Opening

If you really needed anymore indication that Bryan Bresee is a freak of nature, then look no further. At the Opening Regional in Washington DC this past weekend, Bresee not only earned “Alpha Dog” status through the 1 on 1 OL/DL drills, but he also put up some absurd athletic testing numbers.

The 40 and shuttle times are some of the most ridiculous I’ve ever seen from a player that large, and would have stood out at the pro combine, let alone a high school one. The Offensive Lineman at the camp had absolutely no shot at blocking Bresee, and he toyed with them using a variety of moves. In the end, Bresee earned an invite to the Opening Finals, and will be able to further hone his craft against some of the best Offensive Lineman in the country.

Other news and notes

Julian Fleming picked up an Ohio State crystal ball from Steve Wiltfong recently. As Steve has said before, his crystal ball reflects the current “pulse” of the recruitment, and is not necessarily a projection. If signing day were today I feel confident in saying Fleming would be a Buckeye, however, Julian has said he will return to campus, and if he does we all know what Jeff Scott is capable of. Interestingly, Fleming is currently included in the Clemson Commits group chat, and if this month (and next week) is any indication, there are presumably some pretty important new members in that chat.

After Bowman committed, it was an automatic signal to any remaining RB targets Clemson is pursuing that spots are limited. As a result, shortly thereafter Kobe Pryor set his commitment date for the 18th of May. Clemson is the favorite, and all signs point to the Tigers soon adding their second back to the class. Pryor is underrated by recruiting services, and would provide the RB room a different look than what it currently has.

On the question of remaining spots in the class, there are simply not many left. Top tier talent is going to be left out, and one of the major casualties of this appears to be 4-star LB Trent Simpson who has been blowing up on the trail as of late. After the month of May, there will likely be 16 prospects already in the class. That leaves 4-5, and absolutely no more than 6 spots left. How Clemson decides to use those spots will be very interesting, as it appears the Tigers will take 2 more WRs, and DB Tyler Venables, which would take that number to 19. At the same time, Clemson is still heavily pursuing Jordan Burch, Justin Flowe, possibly a TE, and/or a potential 4th DB. Clemson is in an envious, yet also unfortunate situation regarding talent in this class, and how the remaining spots will be approached for the remainder of the cycle will be fascinating to watch.