Clemson football: What’s next for Tiger recruiting?

The commitment train will slow down for Clemson football, but there’s still positions to fill.

With the commitment of Zechariah Owens, Clemson football has filled many of it’s needs in the class of 2023.

There are some exceptions, of course.  A running back would be nice and you can never have too many defensive linemen, for that matter.

To that end, Peter Woods is scheduled to announce on Friday, July 8th and many believe this is a Alabama – Clemson tussle.

Through most of June information had Woods trending towards Clemson, but all has been quiet on that front lately, which makes me wonder if that’s the case.  We all know how difficult it is to get a player of Woods’ stature out of the state of Alabama.

So, I’m like most everyone else – cautiously, but not overly, optimistic about Friday’s announcement.

Running back is a mystery wrapped in an enigma.  Why can’t the Tigers seem to engage a running back when their recent history says “NFL”?

A name that has come up a couple of times over the last week is Parker Jenkins of Klein Forest High in Houston, Texas.

Clemson continues to struggle to find a running back in the class of 2023

If you read this site enough you know I trust the projections of Steve Wiltfong of 247sports.com and he has Jenkins to LSU.

That crystal ball was back in April and things change, but I haven’t heard of any real change, except Clemson has shown interest since missing out on other backs and this tidbit from Jason Priester is worrisome.

"Right now there are no other backs with offers that Clemson is in contention with. They’ve only handed out four to this point."

I’m not sure what to make of this “whiff” on the running backs.  Sure, Etienne was a late “get” turned into Clemson’s all-time leading rusher, but realistically how often is that going to happen?

The answer is not very, but you also have to consider a variety of other factors like how stacked the running back room is right now and NIL opportunities that could be enticing.

The commitment train will slow down for Clemson after Woods’ decision on Friday, but there are still crucial spots to fill before this class is complete.