CJ Kubah-Taylor was a very late addition to Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class.

The 3-star linebacker (Good Counsel, Md) took an official visit shortly before the early signing period and while he committed on the spot, he didn’t go public with it until the day before signing his National Letter of Intent.

However, what many don’t know is Kubah-Taylor was already a silent commit to another school.

“A lot of people don’t know this, but before Clemson I was committed to Temple,” Kubah-Taylor told The Clemson Insider. “I was actually committed for a week or two. I was getting ready to post it. I didn’t post it initially because much my coach told me to wait. He just wanted to get me out there a little more to some bigger schools because he believed I deserved them.”

Turns out holding off on going public was the right choice. Kubah-Taylor’s patience would pay off when his high school coach informed him of Clemson’s interest late in the recruiting cycle.

“I get out of a workout one day and my coach calls me and says Clemson wants me to come for an official visit,” Kubah-Taylor said. “Right after that coach Wes (Goodwin) called me and said I was the guy that they wanted and they wanted me to come up”

“When I got there, I told coach (Dabo) Swinney on the spot at his house that I was committed. It was really perfect because me and (Darien) Mayo are close, our families are close and I got family close to Clemson. It was really perfect.”

While rules at his high school prevented him from enrolling at Clemson early, Kubah-Taylor did spend some time on campus during spring practice trying to acclimate himself to the process at the next level.

“It’s a very competitive atmosphere,” he said. “Dabo isn’t going to baby you. He is going to call you out if you’re not doing things right. That’s the kind of coaching I like. Coach Wes is also a great coach, very thorough. He lets you know what is acceptable and not acceptable.”

And now he is planning to be back on campus May 12. Kubah-Taylor is enrolled in summer school and that will allow him to go ahead and get started in the strength and conditioning program. The 6-foot-3 linebacker already weighs 230 pounds, meaning the next few weeks will be about getting stronger and faster.

“Strength and building your body, that is a big part of the game,” Kubah-Taylor said. “You can know everything you need to know but if your body isn’t ready to go then you can’t be trusted when you get in the game. It’s really going to help put some weight on, get faster and be ready to play.”

Then comes his first fall camp, and Kubah-Taylor is anxious to get to work. Playing on a defense in high school that included fellow Clemson signee 4-star Darien Mayo and 4-star Aaron Chiles, who signed with Florida, Kubah-Taylor would, at times, get overlooked.

However, his production was not. He was a first-team All-WCAC selection as a senior after logging 86 tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks, and he is looking to replicate some of that success with the Tigers.

“My goal is just to try and climb the depth chart,” Kubah-Taylor said. “I know I was the last linebacker take in the class and I feel like people may have some doubts, so my goal is definitely to prove them wrong, climb the depth chart and see the field.”