If you needed further proof that Clemson football is recruiting at a high level, look no further than the eight current or former Tigers on the MaxPreps All-Decade team.
The All-Decade team is made up of players that played high school football from 2010 through the 2019 season. To make this an even bigger feat for the Clemson football program, only one of them graduated before 2014 and several of them are on the 2020 Tiger roster.
Like any All-American team, there were three different teams and Clemson had at least two players on all three teams. Let’s start with the first-team MaxPreps All-Decade team.
QB – Trevor Lawrence, Class of 2018
"Georgia’s all-time leader in passing yards (13,908) and touchdown passes (161) finished his career with a 52-4 record and led the Hurricanes to a pair of state titles."
Trevor joined Kyler Murray and JT Daniels as the three first-team quarterbacks from 2010 through 2019. Despite not playing in most second halves of his high school career, he broke all Deshaun Watson’s Georgia High School passing records.
As we know, in 2018 he became just the second true freshman to lead a team to a national championship and helped guide the Tigers to 29 straight wins.
P – Bradley Pinion, Class of 2012
"Averaged better than 46 yards per punt during his senior season and was the top-rated punter in Class of 2012."
Pinion was a true weapon during his time at Clemson and one most took for granted until he declared a year early for the NFL after the 2014 season. He averaged more than 40 yards per punt while in a Clemson football uniform and was also 3/3 on extra points.
Second Team
QB — DJ Uiagalelei, Class of 2020
"Shared the MaxPreps Player of the Year award with Young after throwing for 4,225 yards and 48 touchdowns during his senior season. Led the Braves to a CIF Open Division state title last year and ended his career with over 10,000 yards passing and 127 touchdowns."
If anti-Clemson people think the quarterback train at Clemson is slowing down anytime soon, they are sadly mistaken. As great as Deshaun Watson was and Trevor Lawrence is, Uiagalelei could be even better.
Just last week, Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney stated that Uiagalelei made Lawrence look average at times when he threw the ball. If that does not get you excited about the true freshman, nothing will.
OT – Mitch Hyatt, Class of 2015
"One of the best offensive lineman from the Peach State. Martez Ivey was the only offensive tackle rated higher than Hyatt from the Class of 2015."
Mitch Hyatt was the first-year freshman to start his first game on the offensive line since James Farr in 1980. He earned nearly every accolade possible during his four years at Clemson and helped lead the Tiger to two national championships.
Third Team
QB – Deshaun Watson, Class of 2014
"Only Lawrence has thrown for more yards and touchdowns in Georgia history. Led Red Elephants to their only state title during his junior season."
Fans tend to forget that Deshaun was just a four-star quarterback coming out of high school. There is no doubt he outplayed his high school ranking and continues to be a great player on the NFL field and an even better person off of the field.
All-Purpose — Derion Kendrick, Class of 2018
"Won four state championships and played quarterback his final two years at the South Carolina power. Threw for over 5,000 yards and 59 touchdowns to go with another 1,600-plus yards on the ground and 25 more scores."
No one has to tell Clemson football fans just how good Kendrick is. Tiger fans have watched go from offense to defense and excel at both places. He is a natural athlete and can do anything he is asked to do on a football field and eight-time out of ten will be the best one doing it.
DT – Dexter Lawrence, Class of 2016
"The No. 2 overall recruit in the nation on 247Sports composite rankings. Finished his career with 204 tackles, 65 tackles for loss and 28 sacks."
Big Dex lived up to the hype coming out of high school. Tiger fans may never see a gentler giant that Dexter but he was an absolute monster in high school and continued that through his college career. He helped to anchor the greatest defensive line in college football history and helped lead Clemson to two national titles.
DL — Bryan Bresee, Class of 2020
"Finished with 134 tackles, 35 sacks and 80.5 tackles for loss. Led the Hornets to three state championships as the top rated player in the country for the Class of 2020 on 247Sports composite rankings."
For most of the 2020 recruiting cycle, Bresee was the top dog in the country. He ended up moving down to third in the final rankings but expect him to have a career much like former Clemson football defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.
Like Wilkins, he can play inside and out and will more than likely join the famed “jumbo package” used in short yard situations.