Blue-chip DB picks Clemson football over Michigan and Miami

The 2026 recruiting class has been kind to Dabo Swinney and Clemson football.

The Tigers have been working on landing a top-five class, and they've been flirting with it until recently as they actually just dropped out of the top 10 nationally.

Clemson's class ranking should improve on Sunday evening, however, as the Tigers landed yet another blue-chip prospect, picking up a commitment from four-star safety Blake Stewart from Atlanta who chose them over the likes of Miami, Michigan, and Georgia.

Stewart held an astounding 44 offers in the 2026 class from the aforementioned finalists above (Georgia wasn't technically a finalist, but it was the home-state program), along with the likes of Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas State, Nebraska, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, and Texas A&M.

With a list of offers that impressive, Stewart's ranking should probably be slightly higher, but he's still one of the better safeties in the 2026 class, ranking No. 307 overall and No. 24 at his position.

Following the commitment, Clemson's 2026 class is now up to 21 pledges and is ranked No. 12 in the country. There's still plenty of room to move up and if the Tigers can land a superstar prospect like Tyler Atkinson before the process is over, I would expect a borderline top-five class from Dabo and Co.

Stewart becomes the third four-star safety to commit to Clemson in the class, following Kaden Gebhardt (No. 16 safety) and Kentavion Anderson (No. 10). The Tigers now have three of the top 25 safeties in the 2026 class committed. That defensive backfield is secured for the next 4-5 years.