Clemson Recruiting: National Signing Day Predictions for Tigers

Clemson will put the final touches on its 2022 recruiting class on Wednesday.

Signing Day is set to arrive with the Tigers still waiting on four players to make announcements. If Clemson can go 4-4 on the day, that would be a pretty impressive finish all things considered.

The Tigers have already picked up five commitments over the past couple of weeks and are currently No. 11 in the 247 Composite Rankings. With all the turnover on the coaching staff, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, that’s not all that bad, considering how far the class fell in the rankings after the four decommitments late last year.

So, can Clemson go a perfect 4-4 on Wednesday? Absolutely. Will they? Hard to say right now. However, even picking up three of the four should be considered a pretty strong finish.

Predictions

2022 RB Keith Adams Jr: The legacy recruit has long had a grayshirt offer, but with the Tigers now having room at running back, that offer is now a full one. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound back and the son of former Clemson LB Keith Adams has 16 offers total, but the Clemson one is by far the biggest. Air Force, Marshall and USF are some of his other offers. It’s really hard to see Adams choosing anywhere else and if he’s half the player his dad was, the Tigers could be getting a steal.

Prediction: Clemson

2022 LB TJ Dudley: Over the past month or so, the 4-star prospect and Top-250 talent had chances to take some visits. However, he’s only taken one, and that was to Clemson last weekend. The Tigers originally offered in June of 2020, but would eventually choose to go after Jalon Walker instead. Walker went on to commit to Georgia, Dudley committed to Oregon, as the Tigers settled on Jaren Kanak.

After Mario Cristobal left for Miami, Dudley opened things back up and after Clemson lost Kanak, they almost immediately turned their attention back towards Dudley. Florida tried to get in after the early signing period but never offered. LSU also tried but couldn’t gain any traction with the 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker.

Prediction: Clemson

2022 DT Caden Story: The 6-foot-3, 282-pound interior defensive lineman was originally committed to Auburn. Once Nick Eason left to become Clemson’s new DT coach, Story decided to open things back up.

The three finalists are Auburn, Florida, and Clemson. Story, a 4-star prospect and Top-200 player, took official visits to Clemson and Florida the past two weekends, and frankly, it’s really coming down to those two schools. Story’s relationship with Eason is what’s really propelled the Tigers here in recent weeks, and while the Gators at least gave him something to think about, it likely wasn’t enough.

Prediction: Clemson

2022 RB Andrew Paul: Another player Clemson seemed to be in prime position to land. Paul took an official visit the weekend before last, and was supposed to take his final visit to Oregon last weekend. Things did not play out that way.

The defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs jumped in late and secured that final visit. Never underestimate the Dawgs when it comes to their ability to recruit the running back position and the past week or so has certainly proved that out. They were already swinging a pretty big stick on the recruiting trail and now that they have that trophy, that stick is even bigger.

Georgia did not even really start recruiting Paul until a little over a week ago, offering the 5-foot-11, 220-pound back the Sunday after his Clemson visit. Immediately after his trip to Athens there was a ton of buzz that Georgia had won him over. Over the past two days, that buzz has started to shift, with some thinking Clemson just might hold onto the the underrated 3-star back from Dallas.

Where will Paul wind up? I am admittedly no recruiting expert, and have no real “inside info” outside of a couple of contacts that are very plugged into the recruiting world. Even they aren’t certain one way or the other at this point.

So, this one appears to be a legitimate toss up. However, we HAVE to make a prediction, and we are rolling with the Tigers. As noted, Clemson is getting some late buzz, and there were reports on Sunday night that the staff still felt good about where they stood.

The Tigers have been building a relationship since late last year, spearheaded by CJ Spiller, who recruits seem to love. His family loved what Clemson had to offer, especially the family-like culture. And lastly, the Tigers’ running back room is less crowded than the one in Athens. Not to mention, Clemson isn’t also bringing in a Top-5 running back in this class like the Dawgs are with Branson Robinson.

Prediction: Clemson

In years past, head coach Dabo Swinney has been known to have a surprise or two up his sleeve. For anyone still expecting one, that doesn’t seem to be the case this year.

“I don’t think I’m going to have any surprises,” Swinney said Tuesday during an appearance on The Packer and Durham Show. “We’re going to sign a great class, some really talented players, and meet all of our needs that we needed from a depth and talent standpoint.”