Clemson’s early run on the 2027 trail is starting to look less like a fluke and more like a pattern: win close to home, then widen the circle.
Days after pulling in in-state wide receiver Trey Wimbley, the Tigers popped up again in the short list of another blue-chip target — four-star tight end Jaxon Dollar, a top-55 national prospect who included Clemson among his top 10 finalists.
Dollar’s list is the kind that tells you two things at once: Clemson is swinging with the sport’s heavyweights, and the margin for error is thin. Ohio State, Georgia and Texas A&M are in the mix. So are programs that have already done serious work in his recruitment — namely Notre Dame and North Carolina.
Who is Jaxon Dollar? Big body, big production, big ceiling
Dollar checks the prototype boxes first: 6-foot-5, 222 pounds, with the athletic range to threaten the seam and the size to live in the red zone.
Then the numbers hit you.
As a sophomore varsity contributor in 2024, he flashed with 13 catches for 224 yards and six touchdowns, plus defensive impact as an edge presence. In 2025, he exploded into a true two-way star:
- 54 receptions, 1,190 yards, 20 touchdowns
- A monster game of 241 yards and four TDs against Bandys
- Added a rushing TD, too
- Defensive résumé to match: 38 tackles, 13 TFL, 5 sacks, plus forced fumbles and even a blocked field goal
That’s not just “tight end production.” That’s a high school offense built around a matchup problem.
Clemson’s relationship: early contact, early offer, early impressions
Clemson’s pursuit isn’t new. The Tigers have been in contact with Dollar since early June 2025, brought him to a camp, then offered about two weeks later — a quick scholarship timeline that signals Clemson viewed him as a priority-type evaluation.
He also made it to Clemson for an unofficial visit during the season opener against LSU, which matters because early unofficials can set the tone before the recruitment turns national and noisy.
Still, Clemson isn’t alone in repeat access. Notre Dame and North Carolina have hosted him multiple times, and other national programs have gotten him on campus recently as well.
The reality check: Clemson is in it, but Notre Dame has momentum
Top-10 lists are important, but they’re still checkpoints — not finish lines.
Right now, the buzz around Dollar leans toward Notre Dame, and that fits what typically wins early TE recruitments: early relationship-building, repeated visits, and a clear role pitch.
For Clemson, the path is familiar: keep stacking visits, keep building trust, and show exactly how a 6-foot-5 touchdown machine fits into the Tigers’ offensive vision.
Why this matters for Clemson’s 2027 class
If Clemson is going to build a class that threatens the top of the ACC again, it needs more than a quarterback and a receiver early — it needs complementary pieces that make an offense harder to defend.
A tight end like Dollar does that instantly. He’s the kind of player who changes third downs, changes red-zone math, and gives a quarterback a safety blanket that also happens to be a chunk-play threat.
Clemson doesn’t have to win the recruitment today.
But getting listed now — with the national powers — is how you stay in the room long enough to steal the moment later.