In our “Looking Ahead” feature, The Clemson Insider takes a position-by-position look at where Clemson stands with targets in the 2019 class and beyond.
In this article, we look ahead at the Tigers’ linebacker recruiting.
The Rundown:
Clemson will lose four scholarship linebackers after the upcoming season (Kendall Joseph, Jalen Williams, J.D. Davis, Judah Davis), and three more will exhaust their eligibility during the 2019 season (Tre Lamar, Chad Smith, James Skalski).
So it’s easy to see why linebacker is a position of need and importance for the Tigers in the 2019 recruiting class.
Clemson has done a solid job so far this cycle in its efforts to restock the linebacker cupboard, landing commitments from Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab’s Bryton Constantin, Malvern (Pa.) Prep’s Keith Maguire and Swansea (S.C.)’s Greg Williams.
We expect the Tigers to take at least one more linebacker in the 2019 class.
Targets:
One of the top targets on Clemson’s linebacker board is Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco three-star Spencer Lytle.
Lytle has set his commitment announcement date for Aug. 4, with Clemson and Wisconsin the finalists. He made an official visit to Wisconsin during the weekend of June 8 before traveling to Clemson for an in-depth unofficial visit from June 11-12.
Dabo Swinney and Brent Venables have remained in regular contact with Lytle since he was on campus. He unofficially visited Clemson in April as well, and Venables returned the favor with a spring evaluation period visit to see Lytle at his school in May.
Like Lytle, the Tigers have made Birmingham (Ala.) Jackson-Olin four-star LaVonta Bentley a priority in their linebacker pursuits.
Clemson offered Bentley in January and has gotten him on campus three times since. He is expected to return for the All In Cookout later this month and has consistently cited Clemson as his top school ahead of Alabama.
The Tigers have been involved with Horn Lake (Miss.) five-star Nakobe Dean, offering him in February and attracting him to campus in May. He told TCI after the visit that Clemson helped its chances, though it still appears to be a long shot as things stand now. Alabama, LSU and Georgia are a few of the schools most prominently in the picture.
Among other linebackers on Clemson’s board is Orlando (Fla.) Jones three-star Marcus Tillman. The former Florida commitment picked up an offer from Clemson in late February and attended the Tigers’ junior day less than a week later. In the spring, he told us he felt Clemson, Ohio State, Louisville and NC State were some of the schools recruiting him hardest.
Clemson has already thrown its hat into the mix for a number of high-profile linebackers in the class of 2020, such as — to name some — Woodbridge (Va.) five-star Antoine Sampah; Washington (D.C.) St. John’s College High five-star Mekhail Sherman; Upland (Calif.) five-star Justin Flowe; Fort Valley (Ga.) Peach County four-star Sergio Allen; Carrollton (Ga.) four-star Kevin Swint; Milton (Mass.) Academy four-star Kalel Mullings; Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star Derek Wingo; and Mount Juliet (Tenn.) four-star Reggie Grimes.
Both Sampah and Allen visited Clemson for the Dabo Swinney Camp in June and view Clemson as one of their early favorites. Swint and Mullings both visited Clemson in the spring and are high on the Tigers as well. Sherman and Wingo have told us they are looking to visit Clemson. Flowe scored an offer from Clemson last month, as did Grimes following his showing at the Swinney Camp.
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