{"id":88002,"date":"2026-05-29T10:30:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=88002"},"modified":"2026-05-28T17:20:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:20:26","slug":"clemsons-may-recruiting-hot-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2026\/05\/29\/clemsons-may-recruiting-hot-streak\/","title":{"rendered":"Clemson\u2019s May Recruiting Hot Streak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clemson has been on a recruiting hot streak in May. This run of commitments came after missing out on a few highly sought-after recruits a month prior.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of commits in the 2027 class was looking thin at the beginning of the month. In a year where every win and loss for Dabo Swinney will be accounted for, it helped add to the speculation about the head coach\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The skepticism around this recruiting class was quickly put to rest as the verbal commitments started rolling in. Now, this 2027 Tigers recruiting class is beginning to truly take shape and has the potential to be better than the 2026 class<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clemson’s May Recruiting Hot Streak<\/span><\/h2>\n

May Commitments\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Things were quiet in the recruiting department for Clemson to start the 2026 calendar year. There was not much good news, with just two commitments for the Tigers in the first few months. However, in May, Swinney and his staff have been on a heater.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five players in the 2027 class have committed to Clemson this month. Four of the players who\u2019ve recently announced their commitment are rated four-star prospects, and one is a three-star.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first to announce their commitment was four-star safety Jarrell Chandler. He chose Clemson over his home-state school of Tennessee, as well as Miami and Vanderbilt. Chandler is a top-15 player in the state of Tennessee and a top-30 safety in the class of 2027. He will add some much-needed depth to the backend of Tom Allen\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just a couple of days after Chandler\u2019s commitment, two more followed. Running back Gary Walker and wide receiver Jamarin Simmons announced on the same day that they will be joining the Clemson program next year. Walker and Simmons are both four-star prospects and top-10 players at their respective positions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This week, Swinney\u2019s staff reigned in two more commitments on the offensive side of the ball. On Monday, offensive lineman Carter Jones chose Clemson over the likes of Georgia, Penn State, and Tennessee. Jones is a player the Tigers\u2019 staff, specifically Matt Luke, has been after for a while. They are ecstatic he chose to play for Clemson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next day, tight end Carter Blackwell announced his commitment to be a Tiger. Blackwell is the lone three-star commit from the May recruiting hot streak, but he will be a crucial piece to this class. The tight end position will be important in Chad Morris\u2019 offense<\/a>, so bringing in a top-50 player at the position is a win.<\/span><\/p>\n

How the Class Shapes Up So Far<\/span><\/h3>\n

The recent flood of commitments has drastically improved the outlook of Clemson\u2019s 2026 class. It brought the Tigers\u2019 2027 class ranking into the top-15 in the country according to <\/span>Rivals\/On3<\/em><\/a>. <\/span>They also have this Clemson recruiting class ranked as the second-best in the ACC, behind the national champion runner-ups, Miami.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tigers have 12 commits in the 2027 class overall right now. Seven of those commits are rated four-star prospects. One of those four-stars is quarterback Kharim Hughley, who received a ton of praise through his offseason camp performances. Hughley was a top target for the Tigers in the 2027 class, and getting his early commitment was huge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another player in the 2027 class that deserves to be highlighted is linebacker Bryce Kish. The four-star prospect is a top-five player in the state of Michigan and a top-ten linebacker in the country. He will be a big-time addition to Allen\u2019s defense, along with another linebacker commit, three-star Max Brown. The Tigers\u2019 2027 class is shaping up to be one of its best since 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Still Needed?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Clemson has been able to get commitments at every level on both sides of the ball, as well as almost every position. The one position the Tigers have yet to get in the 2027 class, though, is a true defensive end\/edge player.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clemson is currently predicted to land three-star edge JiQuan Rogers out of Swinney\u2019s home state of Alabama. That would give the Tigers some much-needed depth on the edge, as both Will Heldt and Jaheim Lawson will be leaving after this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides adding defensive ends, Clemson needs to bolster this class with a couple more offensive linemen and cornerbacks. The good thing is the Tigers got a haul of offensive linemen in the 2026 class who should be contributing in some capacity by next year. However, that doesn\u2019t mean they can finish recruiting the 2027 class with just one player added to that offensive front. Getting one more interior lineman, and at least two or three tackles will be beneficial for the future of the Tigers\u2019 offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the defensive side, cornerback has been a consistently strong position for the Tigers. Both Nate Wiggins and Avieon Terrell have found homes in the NFL in the 2024 and 2026 drafts. Clemson did a great job filling the position with transfers this offseason to go alongside Ashton Hampton and Corian Gipson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tigers need to add some younger depth for the future, as the previously mentioned players approach the end of their college careers. Clemson has one corner on the way in three-star Christian Chancellor Jr, but could use two or three more who can compete with each other. That would help flesh out this 2027 recruiting class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Image: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clemson has been on a recruiting hot streak in May. This run of commitments came after missing out on a few highly sought-after recruits a month prior.\u00a0 The number of commits in the 2027 class was looking thin at the beginning of the month. In a year where every win and loss for Dabo Swinney […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4614,"featured_media":71591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,35645,17],"tags":[680],"class_list":["post-88002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acc","category-clemson-tigers","category-news","tag-dabo-swinney"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88002"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88018,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88002\/revisions\/88018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}