Clemson football: Recruiting updates

Nathaniel Joseph was Clemson’s lone commit for a long time

For a long time Clemson football was stuck at a single commit in the 2023 class, four star wide receiver Nathaniel Joseph out of Miami.

The 5’8, 170 pound Joseph is ranked 86th overall nationally and the 13th best wide receiver in the class per 247sports.

As everyone on planet earth knows, the recruiting game has changed in the NIL era and Miami is one of the teams that is placing emphasis on NIL money in the recruiting arena.

Subsequently, there’s been speculation that Joseph could flip to Miami at some point, given its his hometown team and the NIL opportunities around that program.

Mind you, nothing definite or even that I’d call likely at this point, but rather just something to keep an eye on in the coming days, weeks and months.

Putting players in the NFL matters to recruits

We’ve discussed Belmont, North Carolina offensive tackle Sullivan Absher multiple times in this space and at one point Absher was considered almost a lock to Clemson.  Then Absher took a visit to Notre Dame in late April and things changed.

They changed so much so that Steve Wiltfong put in a crystal ball for Absher to the Irish and now Absher is scheduled to commit next Friday, May 13.

It doesn’t take a rocket genius to figure out what’s likely to happen here as one has to believe the Irish have the upper hand with a week to go.

Could something change again? Absolutely, but right now this is not looking like one the Tigers will pull out.

One reason for the change of mind could be the history of developing offensive lineman for the next level, which Notre Dame has a decided advantage over Clemson in.

Perhaps this changes moving forward with Thomas Austin now in charge of the offensive line at Clemson, but you better believe its a factor on the recruiting trail.

Casey Cregan and I talked with JP Priester of AllClemson.com about this and other topics on the Sluggo podcast this week, if you’re interested.

For those that follow such things, Clemson currently sits at 23rd in the 247.com recruiting rankings and has four verbal commits.

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