You’ve got recruiting questions and we have the answers.
Welcome to the All Clemson Tigers’ recruiting mailbag, where we will answer your recruiting questions. Or we will at least attempt to do so, as recruiting is a world with many moving parts and an ever-changing landscape where circumstances can often change in a flash.
With that in mind, let’s dive in.
Neal: What are our chances with 2024 LB Bradley Shaw and 2024 OL Favour Edwin?
First, the good news. The 4-star Shaw (Hoover, Al) doesn’t do much speaking publicly, so he has been hard to read. He visited for the Florida State game, then took his official this past weekend for the Georgia Tech contest. From what I am told, he has taken no other visits over that stretch.
Auburn was thought to be the leader at one time, but I am also told he has not taken a visit there since the summer. Auburn also just landed a commitment from a fourth linebacker in the 2024 class. I think they are done at that position.
Clemson has to love where they sit at the moment. Based on everything I can gather, we might just be down to the when and not if.
As for the 3-star Edwin (ECA, McDonough, Ga), he was supposed to take an official over the weekend but had a playoff game on Saturday and could not attend. I am told that visit might get pushed to December, but Edwin has yet to confirm that with us.
His last visit was for the Florida State game, when he picked up his offer. It is Auburn that just might be in the driver’s seat here. He has already visited The Plains twice since he visited Clemson and he might very well end up back there for the Iron Bowl next weekend. It would not shock me if Clemson did not get another visit, but we will just have to wait and see how things play out.
As for the other OL targets, 4-star Elyjah Thurmon (Bradwell, Hinesville, Ga) took his official last weekend. He was accompanied by his mother and they stayed all weekend.
“The visit went amazing,” Thurmon told All Clemson Tigers. “I had a great weekend with the coaching staff. Meeting and hanging with the players. And the love and the hospitality shown by everyone was something unbelievable.”
Thurmon still has an official set with South Carolina the weekend of December 9, and as of now, he says he still plans on taking that visit.
3-star Andrew Dennis (Mt Pleasant Mi), who was once committed to Michigan State, is set to take an official this weekend.
Scott: Any chance 2025 WR Winston Watkins comes to Clemson since he decommitted from Colorado?
Watkins, for those that do not know, is the cousin of former Clemson standout Sammy Watkins. He has taken a couple of visits to Clemson, but the last one came in the summer of 2022, several months after having committed to Texas A&M. Late last year, he decommitted from the Aggies, then pledged to Colorado about a month later. Now he has decommitted again.
Without going too far into the weeds here, I think the chances of Clemson getting involved lie somewhere between slim and none, and probably much closer to none.
Dwayne: I know it’s hard to forecast this but do you anticipate any signing day surprises in our favor?
These days, the Tigers tend to have their classes locked up by the start of the early signing period. This year, that is December 20. That might not be the case this time around, though. OL Elyjah Thurmon’s recruitment could go beyond that. OL Favour Edwin might take his until early sigining day. We’ll see if OL Andrew Dennis does. So, yes, Clemson could still be waiting on some decisions on signing day.
However, if you are talking about one of those surprises that just come out of nowhere, I think the chances are remote. With the advent of social media and so much media attention focused on recruiting these days, it’s harder to keep those kinds of things under wraps. Not impossible, just more difficult.
Neal: Is Toriano Pride in the doghouse or has he been beaten out by the freshmen?
The last time we saw Pride, he was putting in arguably the best performance of his young career against Wake Forest, as he played in place of the unavailable Sheridan Jones.
However, we have barely seen him since. He logged just 15 total snaps against Miami and NC State and none since. And he is not hurt, nor is he in the doghouse. This is more about how good those freshmen have been. Avieon Terrell is that guy. Shelton Lewis also has an extremely high ceiling. Sometimes, players get outrecruited, and that just might be what we see playing out here.
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