Clemson football: Not being in the SEC cost Tigers 5-star QB Ty Simpson

Not being in the SEC cost Clemson football a 5-star quarterback in Ty Simpson

5-star Clemson football QB target Ty Simpson announced his decision to commit to the Alabama Crimson Tide Friday afternoon to the surprise of almost no one.

For anyone who had been following Simpson’s recruitment over the last couple of months, you could see the growing interest in Alabama and the waning lead that Clemson seemingly possessed.

What moment did we begin to say that Clemson football was no longer the leader? It was when Simpson did an interview with radio station 104.5 The Game and talking about his recruitment.

While Simpson was complimentary of every school, he had a special intrigue with the SEC that continued to shine through. He revealed that Trevor Lawrence had contacted and the first question he asked Lawrence was why he chose to leave SEC territory- Georgia and Tennessee were recruiting him hard- to come to Clemson.

Here’s what else he had to say about the SEC in that interview just a few weeks ago.

"“Those first schools you said, of course — Alabama, Clemson, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Texas — are a big part of my recruitment right now, just because of, one, SEC and then getting the best out of me and my ability, and the coaching staff and the relationships."

Clemson had nearly everything needed to garner a commitment from Simpson, except the ‘SEC’ patch on its uniform and the paint on its field.

It was clear that playing in the SEC was something that he prioritized when looking at his future and, while the Tigers checked every other box, they couldn’t check that one.

In the end, Simpson couldn’t choose his in-state school in Tennessee with all the questions surrounding that program, but Alabama is still a close drive home and the Crimson Tide give him that SEC pedigree that he was hoping for.

The good news is that Clemson football has another elite QB target who has just as high potential in their latest offer

The Tigers didn’t take any time jumping on their next offer and there is a clear direction for where they’ll head moving forward.

Shortly after Simpson announced his decision, 4-star QB Cade Klubnik– from Austin, TX- announced that he had been officially offered. The Tigers and Klubnik have been in contact for months and there had been clear interest from both sides, but Clemson targets one quarterback at a time and Simpson was that target to begin with.

Now, the Tigers are ‘All In’ on Klubnik and there’s no doubt he has extremely high potential.

Klubnik outdueled the No. 1 player in the nation in QB Quinn Ewers in the Texas Class 6A state championship game this past month and he has vaulted up recruiting boards as of late. By many recruiting insiders, he is considered the top quarterback available and there is a chance he ends up a 5-star before it’s all said and done.

We’ll have more on Klubnik in the coming days, but there’s no doubt that the Tigers still have a good one lined up in this class even after losing the recruiting battle to the Crimson Tide.