Clemson Commit Payton Page Signs Letter of Intent to join Class of 2021

The lone defensive tackle currently in Clemson’s class has signed his letter of intent to join Clemson’s class of 2021. Page, a product of Greensboro, NC, will make the trek down to Clemson thanks to the work of Todd Bates and backed up by Brent Venables. Page comes to Clemson at a gigantic 6’4” 360 lbs. It would be surprising to see him lose some weight and turn it into muscle, but he will be very difficult to move around regardless.

Page is a 4 star recruit with a .9625 rating, making him the 7^th best DT in the country this year. The Tigers beat out Tennessee and UNC for his signature, continuing to pluck some of the best talent from the state of North Carolina.

Tommy’s take from his commitment:

There are a lot of differing opinions on Page. Rivals started him off as a 5* and number 19 overall that later dropped to number 30 overall, but 247 has him at 213 overall and the composite at 80. I have always wanted to see him play in his senior year before feeling good about an overall evaluation—just because a lot of his recruitment hype has been based on potential talent. I think he belongs somewhere in the 50-100 range (probably closer to 100 right now), but athletic, big bodies are a rarity.

Page is a zero technique DT who uses pure power at the high school level to dominate. He is going to need to learn to play with better technique and play with his hands at the college level. He has the strength to hang in college, however, and just needs to improve pad level and advance his technique. Should be able to be a run stuffer who can also give you some pass rush. You love his size and wide body, but definitely will need to work on conditioning and keeping weight down in college.