Clemson Football: How will the Tigers use their extra scholarship?

Option #3: He will pocket it to use on an extra Class of 2024 recruit

Now we are starting to touch on some more likely options. Clemson has always preferred to recruit high school players over transfers, almost to a fault.

This is also a bit tricky though. Five, six, or seven years ago there would have been plenty of top recruits that Clemson could add to the mix for their next class.

In 2023, the timeline for commitments has accelerated. A lot of the top recruits want to decide on their college destination before their senior season begins, so the recruitment process is out of the way and they can enjoy or focus on their final year of high school football. Its probably too late to jump in with guys that want to announce their decision in early August.

There are still options here for the Tigers, but it might take some patience. They might need to find a player who emerges during their senior season. Clemson has always been good about finding the diamonds in the rough. If they can be one of the first schools to begin communicating with an emerging prospect, they stand a good chance to get a commitment.

There might be players who decommit from their chosen program as well. Ironically, Dudley is a great example. He had committed to Oregon, but when Mario Cristobal left to take over at Miami, he re-opened his recruitment. Clemson began recruiting him again and he ended up with the Tigers.

This option requires patience. It won’t happen overnight.