Friday Night Lights: Future Tigers shine across the board
By: Gavin Oliver October 19, 2020

A slew of future Clemson stars in the Tigers’ 2021 recruiting class shined in their respective teams’ games and found the end zone frequently Friday night.

Quarterback commitment Bubba Chandler led North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.) to a 44-0 rout of Chestatee (Gainesville, Ga.) with five touchdown passes. He completed 7 of 11 passing attempts for 193 yards and also ran for 29 yards.

Meanwhile, Clemson receiver commit Will Taylor, who stars at quarterback for Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.), threw for three touchdowns to help his team extend its streak of consecutive games without a loss to 44 and clinch its eighth straight region title with a lopsided 55-13 victory at Lexington (Lexington, S.C.).

Tight end pledge Jake Briningstool (pictured above) was on the receiving end of three scores despite playing only two quarters in his Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.) team’s blowout 55-10 win at Smyrna (Smyrna, Tenn.). The four-star prospect followed up a 44-yard touchdown reception on Ravenwood’s first play from scrimmage with touchdown catches of 25 and 15 yards, and finished with eight grabs for 147 yards.

Running back commit Phil Mafah continued getting it done on the ground, rushing for 86 yards and a couple of scores on eight carries in Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)’s 42-7 win at South Gwinnett (Snellville, Ga.). Both of Mafah’s touchdown runs, which were of the 17- and 14-yard varieties, occurred within the first 2:01 of the game.

A couple of future Clemson defenders each scored multiple times in their respective teams’ wins. Linebacker commit Barrett Carter had a 1-yard touchdown run and also threw for a score for North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) in its 31-0 blanking of Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.), while safety commit Andrew Mukuba found paydirt with touchdowns of 45 and 57 yards on a screen pass and reverse play, respectively, as he helped LBJ (Austin, Texas) to a 35-13 victory vs. Fredericksburg (Fredericksburg, Texas).

In other Friday Night Lights action, Clemson receiver commit Troy Stellato recorded a 14-yard touchdown catch for Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in its 35-3 win vs. Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.).

Playing on Saturday, linebacker pledge Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., paved the way for St. Joseph’s (Philadelphia, Pa.) in its 38-14 win vs. La Salle (Wyndmoor, Pa.), lining up with his brother, fellow linebacker Josiah Trotter, as twin fullbacks in the team’s “heavy” package that produced four rushing touchdowns.

Stay tuned to The Clemson Insider each week as we keep you updated on the performances of Clemson commits in our “Friday Night Lights” feature.

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