Clemson football: What’s next after losing out on 5-star DE Jeremiah Alexander

When 5-star DE Jeremiah Alexander left Tiger Town just a couple of weeks ago, he named Clemson football as his favorite.

Shortly thereafter, he announced that he would be committing on July 8th and the overarching thought from the recruiting world was that the Tigers were going to get a big-time commitment. Then the Alabama Crimson Tide stepped in.

Alexander, the top prospect from the state of Alabama, ended up choosing the Crimson Tide over the Tigers at his announcement ceremony Thursday afternoon.

There were inklings throughout the week heading into his announcement that Alexander was trending towards Alabama and while no one has discussed or found out exactly what happened to change his mind so abruptly, the fact of the matter is that the former Crimson Tide decommitment is now recommitted and that’s not likely to change.

Where does Clemson football go from here without Jeremiah Alexander in the mix?

Clemson football fans should wish Alexander well and move on to the next targets.

The Tigers already have one defensive end commit in the class of 2022 in 4-star Jihaad Campbell. Campbell was one of the top targets at the position for Clemson throughout this cycle because of his freakish athleticism and the raw talent that he’ll bring to the table, but the Tigers are still hoping to take one more.

Who might those targets be?

• 4-star Cyrus Moss
• 4-star DJ Wesolak
• 5-star Shemar Stewart
• 4-star Kenyatta Jackson

There hasn’t been a clear direction set forth by the staff yet as to who they’ll target at the position and what that might look like as they attempt to bring in a second defensive end.

5-star Shemar Stewart is the biggest name at the position still available and his recruitment is still rather wide open. He’s considering Georgia, Miami and LSU, but there’s definitely room for the Tigers to get involved and get him on campus this fall.

Clemson has reached back out to 4-star Kenyatta Jackson, who the Tigers had a lot of traction with earlier in the cycle, and the hope is that they’ll get him on campus this fall, as well.

Cyrus Moss is a name we’ve heard floated from time-to-time, but he is still slow-playing his recruitment and it’s tough to get a read on where the Tigers stand. Lastly, there’s 4-star DJ Wesolak. Wesolak was on campus for the Elite Retreat and there’s definitely still some interest on his part.

While there’s not a clear direction at this point, one thing is for certain: Clemson will likely have to wait until the fall to get its second DE commitment. Look for the Tigers to try and prioritize their targets throughout the rest of the summer with a mind’s eye on hosting official visits this fall during the season.

From there, we’ll see what happens.