Tigers in the mix for elite O-linemen

After inking four offensive linemen as part of the 2021 class in five-star Tristan Leigh and four-stars Ryan Linthicum, Dietrick Pennington and Marcus Tate, Clemson plans to sign two or three more O-linemen in the 2022 class.

In our Looking Ahead feature, The Clemson Insider looks at the top names on Clemson’s offensive line board and where the Tigers stand with them:

The Tigers already have a pair of O-line commits on board in the 2022 class – Greenville (S.C.) four-star Collin Sadler and Strongsville (Ohio) four-star Blake Miller.

However, Clemson is leaving the door open for possibly adding a third offensive lineman in this class, as evidenced by its recent offer to Charlestown (Ind.) four-star Kiyaunta Goodwin, the fifth-best offensive tackle in the country and a top-50 national prospect (No. 47) regardless of position according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Goodwin, who claims more than 50 power conference offers, trimmed down the list of suitors in his recruitment last month when he announced a top 13 comprised of Clemson along with Alabama, Arizona State, Florida State, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon and Southern Cal.

Goodwin hopes to render his commitment before the start of his senior season. He is considered an Ohio State lean, but while the Buckeyes may be the frontrunner in his recruitment, the Tigers could be a legitimate threat should they turn up the heat on Goodwin and make a push for him. He is looking to visit Clemson, among other schools, if the NCAA dead period gets lifted this summer.

Goodwin plans to further narrow down his recruitment to a top five soon. Expect Clemson to make the cut.

Another elite offensive lineman to keep an eye on is Miami (Fla.) Columbus five-star Julian Armella, who dropped a top seven last month featuring Clemson as well as Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami and Ohio State.

Although Armella is a Florida State legacy – his father, Enzo, played for the Seminoles as a defensive lineman in the early 1990s and was a member of their 1993 national championship team – Julian certainly isn’t a lock to pick the Seminoles or play anywhere else in the Sunshine State, for that matter.

Like Goodwin, Clemson figures to draw a visit from Armella once on-campus recruiting reopens.

A couple of other offensive linemen on the radar worth mentioning are Daleville (Va.) Lord Botetourt four-star Gunner Givens and Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian four-star Addison Nichols.

Givens named Clemson one of his top six schools last November, along with Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State and Virginia Tech, while Nichols listed Clemson in the top 12 he released last summer that also included Alabama, Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Ohio State, Southern Cal and Tennessee.

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