Clemson Football: 2018 Scholarship Breakdown after Johnson’s transfer

CLEMSON, SC - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers and head coach Gus Malzahn of the Auburn Tigers talk before the start of the football game at Memorial Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SC - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers and head coach Gus Malzahn of the Auburn Tigers talk before the start of the football game at Memorial Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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Quarterback Hunter Johnson will be transferring out of the program. Here’s a look at the 2018 scholarship breakdown for Clemson football.

Officials announced that sophomore quarterback Hunter Johnson would be transferring out of the program Monday morning.

Johnson became the fourth transfer from the team this year. Shadell Bell and C.J. Fuller left the program in February and then Josh Belk left the program last week. Zerrick Cooper and Tucker Israel also transferred out from the QB room.

With those losses, Clemson football is a few scholarships short heading into the 2018 season.

Here’s a look at the scholarship breakdown for Clemson.

2018 Clemson Football Scholarship Breakdown:

Position-by-Position:

  • Quarterbacks: 3
  • Running Backs: 5
  • Wide Receivers: 9
  • Tight Ends: 5
  • Offensive Line: 14
  • Defensive Tackle: 6
  • Defensive End: 10
  • Linebacker: 11
  • Safety: 6
  • Cornerback: 7
  • Special Teams: 4

Class-by-Class:

  • Seniors: 20
  • Juniors: 20
  • Sophomores: 16
  • Redshirt Freshmen: 8
  • True Freshmen: 16

Total Scholarships: 80 out of 85

With the four transfers, Clemson is actually down five scholarships for the year.

For 2018, that’s not going to hurt you, but it could hurt in the coming years. The Tigers will lose 20 seniors at the end of this season and that’s not counting a few juniors that may consider leaving for the NFL.

It’s pretty clear that Clemson will look to fill up the 2019 class with as many recruits as they can. The Tigers will get 25 and then look to add more with early enrollees and such.

There’s also a couple of interesting thoughts to come out of this breakdown.

First, this is a very balanced team. As a matter of fact, we have 40 upperclassmen and 40 underclassmen. That’s about as balanced as it comes. Of the underclassmen, 24 are freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

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The second thought I have has to do with redshirting. Of those 16 true freshmen, I’m not so sure that you’re going to see very many redshirt. If the Tigers redshirt five guys, for example, that would bring the available scholarship count down to 75.

I also believe that you will see a walk-on or two earn scholarships.