Clemson football: 5-star DT target trending towards Tigers

5-star defensive tackle target trending towards Clemson football

The 2022 Clemson football recruiting class has a chance to be special, but currently the Tigers have three commitments and rank No. 17 nationally.

Of course, much of that is by design.

The Clemson football coaching staff has been slow in recruiting many prospects simply because of the NCAA’s extended dead period on recruiting, which has lasted since spring of 2020 and will at least be in effect through the end of May this year.

Because of how the NCAA has handled recruiting visits, though, Clemson is starting to heat up its recruitment of several top targets and make offers that typically wouldn’t be made until the prospect had a chance to visit.

The top defensive tackle target for the 2022 recruiting cycle is 5-star Travis Shaw, a native of Greensboro, NC.

247 Sports had a ‘crystal ball day’ where several recruiting insiders placed crystal ball predictions for where they believe some of the top prospects from around the country will end up earlier this week. Shaw received three crystal ball predictions, all going in favor of Clemson football.

Will Clemson football ultimately end up with a commitment from the talented defensive tackle prospect?

Shaw released a top-13 list several months ago and it doesn’t look like his recruitment will be coming to an end any time soon. That being said, the overarching belief is that Clemson and North Carolina are in the best position.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Inside Carolina’s Don Callahan said that while Clemson and North Carolina are leading, he expects Shaw to do his due diligence and it might be several months down the road before we see him make a decision.

"“I think most people will say that he is down to Clemson and UNC,” Callahan said. “I don’t think he is down to those schools, but I think that if he had to chose today it would be between those two schools. But I think there is a lot left to be done before he makes his decision. I talk to a lot of people close to him, friends, coaches, that sort of thing and they all share the same sort of sentiment, that yes, UNC and Clemson are probably in the best position, but there is still a lot left to do.”"

It’s always better to start up than to work from behind, but Clemson still has a lot of work to do to land this talented defensive tackle.

Shaw is the type of athlete that you dream of when you think about defensive linemen. He is 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds. He shows great explosiveness and physicality on the inside, but he actually has the athleticism and foot speed to line up on the edge.

He is a basketball player and that’s only going to help his footwork when he gets to the collegiate level.

In many ways, he reminds me of a Christian Wilkins simply because of how he is able to hold a heavy weight- which holds up inside- but still possesses insane athleticism.

Shaw is currently as a 5-star by the 247 Sports’ Composite Player Rankings. He is the No. 7 overall player nationally and the No. 2 DT in the class. He is rated as the No. 1 player from the state of North Carolina.