Clemson Commit Marcus Tate Signs Letter of Intent to join Class of 2021

One of three blue chip OL recruits in this class, Florida local Marcus Tate has signed his letter of intent with Clemson. Tate, from Fort Lauderdale, measures in at 6’4” and weighs 275 lbs. He is a 4 star recruit with a .9537 rating, good enough to be ranked as the 6^th best OL in the class of 2021.

The Tigers beat out most of the usual suspects, including Auburn and Alabama, for Tate’s signature. And we can thank Brent Venables for all of his work on Tate as the primary recruiter. Clemson’s OL is going to be young and crowded in 2021, with only Cade Stewart departing, so we’ll have to see how much Tate is able to break through in his freshman year.

QT’s take from his commitment:

The first question is whether Tate can stick at Tackle or will he eventually play Guard in college. He has a wide body and I can see analysts saying he is ideally suited to play guard, but I think he can stick at Right Tackle, especially in Clemson’s system. Clemson will desperately need Tackle depth from the 2020 and 2021 class—particularly if Jackson Carman goes pro after his junior season. Tate gives you a good blend of size and athleticism. Key to his progression is cutting some bad weight this offseason. He plays with a strong base and doesn’t get knocked off balance easily. I also see a really good initially punch and decent feet. He ran a really slow 40 time at the opening, but the reduced weight and increased agility make that less of an issue.

Clemson will need Tate to contribute right away in the two deep if he can stick at Tackle. Regardless, the upside is evident and two years ago we would’ve all been cheering extremely loud for a top 100 offensive tackle. This is a good get this early in the recruiting season. With Tate in the fold and the pursuit of Burton continuing, Clemson can focus on landing a big fish (preferably another Tackle) or pocketing the scholarship for another year.