WR Ajou Ajou Commits to the Tigers

Clemson recruiting has gone international.

Clemson secured a verbal commitment from 3-star wide receiver Ajou Ajou during his visit to the All In Cookout. Ajou originally comes from Alberta, Canada but recently relocated to Clearwater, Florida (Clearwater Academy International) and is 6-3, 210 pounds. He is the #92 ranked wide receiver in the 2020 class per the 247Sports Composite and the #523 player overall. Ajou chose the Tigers over primary competitor Nebraska.

Ajou’s commitment comes after earning a scholarship offer at the Dabo Swinney Football Camp in June. Ajou has repeatedly bet on himself and won. He moved from Alberta to Florida to further pursue his football career. He then went to Swinney’s camp to get an offer from WRU. Following direct instruction from Swinney and Scott, the coaches decided to offer him on the spot - in a class where scholarships are extremely limited and top prospects remain uncommitted.

Very little measurable numbers are available for Ajou since he has yet to play a snap on American soil. He owns the provincial high jump record in Alberta, where he skyed 6’ 7.5” during his junior year. In addition to football and track, Ajou also excelled in basketball during his time in Canada.

His tape shows a couple key traits immediately. First, he is an aggressive, willing, blocker who isn’t afraid to lower his pads and deliver punishment. Second, he runs with long, smooth, strides while flying past defenders. That, combined with his long arms, project him to become a threat downfield and in the red zone.

Perhaps most telling of Ajou’s skills is his offer list. Ajou has picked up over two dozen offers since relocating to Clearwater Academy this spring from team such as Alabama, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Florida, FSU, Oregon, Miami, Auburn and Penn State. Coaches have taken notice of his raw talent and I suspect ranking services will soon follow.

Ajou is the 19th commitment for Clemson’s #1 ranked 2020 recruiting class and the first wide receiver. The Tigers will sign 1-2 more wide receivers in this class depending on the decisions of Xzavier Henderson and E.J. Williams. Williams will make his announcement on August 24th.

QT’s Take:

Ajou is just a physical specimen. Clemson pursued Julian Fleming, but after he committed to Ohio State the net was cast far and wide. Scott wasn’t particularly enamored with this wide receiver class. With EJ Williams a definite, circled target and Xzavier Henderson an unearthed gem with Florida athleticism and upside (he had a three star rating when Scott started recruiting and now is a top 100 player in some services), Ajou provides a nice complement with positional flexibility.

He is new to football, having been a basketball player in Canada, and will need time to learn the intricacies of playing wide receiver, but he has all the physical tools to be a top flight receiver. His arms are really long, but not just lanky—he has some thickness. I could see him growing into a TE down the road if he outgrows wide receiver, or even a Safety. I stated before that the offense wanted another player, especially with Overton and Higgins coming off the books and probably Ross as a Junior. I was hoping that Ngata would be that possibility and help alleviate RB and WR depth concerns while providing a proven kick returner, but understand going with Ajou. This gives Clemson 19 commits in the class that is heading toward 23.

Scott gets credit for this recruitment. Once the coaches got him to campus, Nebraska didn’t stand a chance.

You can watch Ajou’s Canadian high school highlights below: