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.
Clemsonguy29: Any knee jerk thoughts post Mike Matthews' trip to Tennessee or is it too soon to tell?
Matthew: How do we stand with Mike Matthews?
Brutal truth here.... I have nothing new of substance on Mike Matthews after his weekend visit to Tennessee. I get it, that isn't what fans want to hear at this point, but that is just where we are. He is just one of those recruits that is hard to get a good read on.
Based on everything I can gather, I still think this is coming down to Clemson and Tennessee. There are things about both programs that really stand out to the 5-star prospect. While I have been told he has at least one member in his immediate family that might prefer him at Clemson, this is going to be his decision. So not sure exactly how much weight that will carry at the end of the day.
I will say this. After checking with multiple sources over the past couple of days, I fully believe that Clemson is very much in it. Still think a decision is coming sooner rather that later, probably sometime in July.
Kevin: Any new offers coming for OL? I saw Casey Poe and Michael Uini both projected elsewhere.
WhitelakeTiger: Is Casey Poe going to be the first OL commit?
Let's get the easy part out of the way first. No, I do not see 4-star Casey Poe being the first offensive lineman to commit in the 2024 class. We were never getting any clarity with him until he went on his official to Alabama and now that he has been, I think he will be heading to Tuscaloosa. He announces on June 12.
I have been maintaining for weeks that I thought the offensive line board was going to expand. It is just a matter of when, not if. That could start happening as early as the next couple of weeks as some of these current targets start making decisions. The cookout is at the end of July and that could be an event where we see a new target or two on hand.
4-star Michael Uini announces on Friday. Based on his Twitter announcement, Clemson isn't even in his final three.
I don't think Clemson is getting 3-star Jameson Riggs or 4-star Ronan' Connell. That leaves 4-stars William Satterwhite and Fletcher Westphal, the two guys I thought Clemson moved the needle with the most over the official visit weekend.
Satterwhite is fresh off a visit to Tennessee, and this one is between the Tigers and Volunteers. It was the only two officials he took this month. I think a decision will come fairly quickly once we get into July. Still like Clemson's chances, but at the same time I absolutely wouldn't call him a lock.
Westphal is another guy that is hard to get a good read on. He took official visits to Clemson, Georgia, Florida and Arkansas. He is one of those guys that feels like the perfect cultural fit at Clemson. There has been some talk that he will announce on July 12, but I have not confirmed that.
I can tell you that the Tigers knocked it out of the park with Westphal on his visit. I had a conversation with him just after it ended and he just raved about it, saying Clemson set the bar with him and he was anxious to see if other schools could reach that bar. I have also seen interviews in which he raved about some other visits, particularly the one to Athens.
The number is three. If you can land those two, you have to feel really good about this class of offensive linemen. At this point, landing one might feel like a win. Missing on both, though? That would be brutal and put you right back at square one. And we're coming off two consecutive cycles in 2022 and 2023 in which the Tigers had strong classes of offensive linemen.
Wanna ask a recruiting question, shoot us an email a jp@clemsonmaven.io or hit us on Twitter.
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