Not many coaches have had as much success on the recruiting trail this offseason as Clemson football's Dabo Swinney. His program has been skyrocketing in the 2026 team rankings.
In fact, Swinney had the Tigers all the way up to No. 2 in the national recruiting rankings after a strong spring and if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that he flirts with No. 1 this summer at some point. Clemson has been recruiting at a high level for the 2026 class and it's not nearly done.
Before official visit season even starts, the Tigers continue to make noise on the trail.
On Tuesday night, Clemson made the trimmed list of one of the top edge rushers in the 2026 class, four-star Tennessee native Zach Groves.
More than blessed to be in this situation I want to Thank all the coaches who have recruited me along this way and with that being said I have cut down my recruitment to these 5 schools… @OleMissFB @Vol_Football @UGAAthletics @ClemsonFB @USC_Athletics #Top5 @304Committed pic.twitter.com/isWwqggMqN
— Zach Groves (@Groves_Zach0) May 6, 2025
Also making the cut here are USC, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Tennessee as it looks like Groves is likely to commit to an SEC program unless he spurns 80 percent of his top five and heads out west.
Groves would be a nice addition to the defensive line room at Clemson as a 6-foot-4, 252-pound athlete who can cause major problems off the edge. He has the ideal size and he is clearly one of the more coveted edge rushers in the class, raking in 29 offers before trimming his list to five.
Clemson has a history of getting defensive linemen to the NFL and the Tigers' recent draft success has to speak for itself there. Groves has definitely taken notice.
Groves is ranked the No. 257 prospect in the 2026 class as well as the 26th-best edge rusher, per the 247Sports Composite.