4-Star DB Jordan Hancock Commits to Clemson

Clemson secured a verbal commitment from 4-star cornerback Jordan Hancock today. Hancock will come to Clemson from Suwanee, Georgia (North Gwinnett) and is 6-0, 170 pounds. He is the sixth best cornerback in the 2021 class per the 247Sports Composite and the #82 player overall. Hancock chose Clemson over Ohio State, Alabama, and Georgia. The Tigers closed the door on his recruitment following last weekend’s Junior Day festivities.

Mike Reed led Hancock’s recruitment and continues his perennial success on the recruiting trail. Reed’s cornerback group now includes almost exclusively blue chip caliber players and should remain a strength of the team for years to come.

Hancock is the tenth commitment of Clemson’s already stellar 2021 recruiting class and the first defensive back taken. He does not have any verified measurables but is considered a fast rising prospect on the recruiting scene due to his outstanding junior year film, elite competition, and the quality of offers he has received. He is seen as a prototypical, slick hipped, lockdown corner who also offers the versatility to play both outside and in the slot. He also offers the physicality needed to contribute at the college level. Once Hancock receives his athletic testing results, I expect he will post top-tier times that will cement him as a borderline 5-star cornerback.

Clemson will still look to add at least one more cornerback in the 2021 class. Names to watch include Ga’Quincey McKinstry, Tony Grimes, Jakalin Johnson, and Nyland Green.

You can watch his **VERY IMPRESSIVE** highlights below:

QT’s Take:

Clemson early on in the cycle circled Tony Grimes and Ga’Quincy McKinstry as their two top targets. Grimes is still a possibility but will likely be an oversign decision with a long list of suitors and McKinstry is from Alabama and an instate lean. In recent years Clemson has offered very few players and just focused on the very top as a luxury brand. This year Clemson pivoted and rightly expanded the board earlier than normal.

The feeling from Clemson is that the corner class and their board was very deep (meaning there isn’t much of a gap between those top two and a good number of prospects). Clemson started giving out more offers than normal, but an early offer was dispensed to Hancock who the staff really liked. In fact, they liked him a lot but didn’t feel early on like they had a great beat on him after Ohio State entered the picture and grabbed the lead. FSU also grabbed his attention a few weeks ago with a visit where they felt like they had a legit shot at Hancock. One extended visit to Clemson changed all of that momentum for the other schools.

I actually didn’t think Hancock was going to commit. He exited the visit wanting to commit, but had the Ohio State visit scheduled and Dabo always wants recruits to take their time and deliberate. Jordan’s family was on the visit, however, which was absolutely key and they all agreed after that Clemson was the place for Jordan. We knew Clemson was leading coming out of the visit but weren’t sure if a commitment was taking place.

Hancock is ranked number 82 overall in the composite and that is low and will be moving up a bit after Rivals reranks (they have him at 136 and that will go up). He will be a top 75 player and creep into the top 50 when all is said and done. He is probably 6’0 (some services have him 6’1) and needs to add quality weight and size during his senior season since he is 160-170 right now and lean.

But the highlights speak for themselves. At North Gwinnett, Hancock is really well coached and plays against top competition. Very fluid athlete who can flip his hips with the best corners in the class. With the lack of depth at CB, Hancock will have a chance to jump into the two deep in very little time and also compete for a Nickel spot. This commitment also allows Clemson to be more selective with a second CB/DB take. Lastly, this gives Clemson another chip in the Barrett Carter recruitment as the two are teammates at North Gwinnett in GA. Clemson enters Georgia and grabs another talented prospect.