Clemson Football has gotten an early start on their Class of 2025 with four recruits already. All four are offensive players.
Saturday night, Clemson Nation was surprised with a fifth offensive commitment that they didn’t see coming.
Woodbridge, Virginia wide receiver Carleton ‘Juju’ Preston announced that he was verbally committing to the Tigers.
Preston is 5′-10″ and 150 pounds. He is finishing his junior season at Freedom High School. Preston is unrated by 247Sports at this time.
Clemson offered Preston when he visited for the North Carolina game this season. Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and another assistant were in attendance for Freedom’s state semifinal playoff game on Saturday.
According to Preston, he surprised the visiting coaches.
"“They (the Clemson coaches) didn’t know it was coming. Only me, my family and [Freedom coach Overton]. It’s something we’ve been talking about for about a week. I just feel like it’s a good fit for me. They are like family down there. Great atmosphere.”"
Freedom won their playoff game and will advance to the state final.
One of the points of criticism of Clemson’s wide receivers the past few years is that they have trouble creating separation. There are limited highlights of Preston, especially from his junior season, but it doesn’t take much to demonstrate that he has the speed to create separation.
The flipside of that is that college players have better speed than high school players. It is difficult to tell from the limited footage on Hudl if Preston can make contested catches.
Don’t shoot the messenger, but there are examples of Preston catching screen passes and executing them very well.
Juju Preston was commitment No. 5 for Clemson Football, and No. 6 could come today
Preston’s other offers included Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado, among others.
Preston joins quarterback Blake Hebert, running back Gideon Davidson, offensive tackle Easton Ware, and tight end Logan Brooking in the current 2025 class for the Tigers.
We might not have to wait long for No. 6, and it could be the first defensive player in the class. South Florence defensive lineman Amare Adams plans to announce his commitment today via social media. He does not have a set time. Crystal Balls have been rolling in for Clemson on 247Sports.