Clemson football: The train is rolling – Dee Crayton commits to the Tigers

The commitment train keeps rolling for Clemson football as a Georgia linebacker pledges to the Tigers.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Clemson has another blue chip commitment for the Class of 2023 (on second thought, don’t stop me, you’ll like this).

Dee Crayton has announced that he will play football for Head Coach Dabo Swinney & Defensive Coordinator Wes Goodwin.

Crayton is a linebacker from Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. He is rated as a four-star prospect in the 247 Composite. He is Clemson’s second linebacker recruit in the Class of 2023 alongside Jamal Anderson, the son of former Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson.

The first thing you will notice when you watch Crayton’s highlights is that at 6′-2″ and 215 lbs, he has no problem rushing up the middle against offensive linemen to track the opposing quarterback or running back. As you continue, you will see he is very effective in run coverage too. He often lines up in the middle, so I would guess he will be lining up at MIKE for the Clemson defense. Anderson looks to be a solid candidate to slot into the SAM position, which has been a hybrid position lately for the Tigers. It appears Goodwin has successfully acquired commitments from linebacker prospects who have differing skill sets.

Insiders indicate that the Tigers will probably only take two linebackers this cycle. This means Clemson is likely done recruiting that position for the 2023 class.

Crayton’s commitment is the 12th of the class. He is the 7th defensive player of the group. He is the 9th commitment in the month of June, following Clemson’s big official visit weekend. Time will tell how many of Clemson’s eventual 2023 recruits will have visited during the weekend of June 3-5, but to this point it certainly feels that Clemson’s first foray into summer official visits has been a tremendous success.

The Tigers are far from done on the recruiting trail and we mean sooner rather than later

There are more announcements on the horizon that Clemson fans should keep an eye on. Stephiylan Green, a four-star defensive lineman from Rome, Georgia, has tweeted that he will announce his verbal commitment on Friday, June 22nd. Green has been projected to Clemson by 247 Director of Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong.

Zechariah Owens, a four-star offensive lineman from McDonough, Georgia, plans to announce his commitment on July 4th. All nine Crystal Ball projections on 247 predict he will be selecting Clemson.

Peter Woods, a five-star defensive lineman from Alabaster, Alabama, will announce his commitment on July 8th. 247’s only Crystal Ball so far is to Alabama, who has been considered the leader in his recruitment. Wood’s did attend the official visit weekend at Clemson and he had positive things to say about his visit. I am hopeful the staff can convince him to leave the state and join the Tigers.