The Clemson Tigers will enter the 2023 season with plenty of experience at safety.
Jalyn Phillips deciding to return for a fifth season was a big boost for a room that was already getting back Tyler Venables and RJ Mickens. Add in Andrew Mukuba entering his third season and there is a lot of talent for Mickey Conn to work with.
2023 Roster
- Jalyn Phillips (5th Yr Sr)
- RJ Mickens (Sr)
- Tyler Venables (Sr)
- Andrew Mukuba (Jr)
- Sherrod Covil (So)
- Kylon Griffin (R-So)
- Khalil Barnes (Fr)
- Rob Billings (So)
Looking ahead to the 2024 class, the Tigers will take at least two players at the position and quite possibly three, seeing as Phillips, Mickens and Venables will all likely be moving on. One of those players is already in the fold. with Noah Dixon committing to Clemson late last month after visiting for Elite Junior Day.
As far as the players still on the board, the coaching staff is targeting a couple of big name players and are very much in contention for both.
2024 Commit
Noah Dixon (LaGrange, Ga): Dixon committed to Clemson back at the end of January, just days after Elite Junior Day. Rankings vary on Dixon, but he is widely considered a Top 200 talent overall, with at least one service ranking him inside of the Top 100.
2024 Targets
Mike Matthews (Parkview, Lilburn, Ga): Matthews is one of the highest-rated players on the board, regardless of position, as he is widely considered one of the ten best players in the class. While he is listed as an ATH by most of the services, Clemson is recruiting him as a safety.
Due to a late conflict, Matthews was not able to maki it in for Elite Junior Day, but that shouldn't be taken as a sign of things trending downward for Clemson. This is one the Tigers are definitely in the thick of, due to the strong family-like culture inside of the program. It is something that really resonates with Matthews. However, many of the big boy schools are in pursuit, including the national champion Georgia Bulldogs.
KJ Bolden (Buford, Ga): Bolden is the other big target, with most seeing him as one of the Top 25 players in the class. He was on hand for Elite Junior Day and also attended the NC State game back in October. Bolden might prove to be an even harder pull than Matthews. He currently has close to 40 offers, with Ohio State and Georgia being two of the major players.
Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!
Do us a HUGE favor and like, subscribe and follow us on social media:
►LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allclemson
►SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/AllClemson
►FOLLOW All Clemson on Twitter:https://twitter.com/All_Clemson
