Recruiting Insider: Clemson still has moves to make in July

DB Ashton Hampton is among the upcoming announcements who looks likely to pick Clemson.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Jul 11 08:56:07 GMT-04:00 2023

Welcome to the ups and downs of recruiting.

Clemson finished off a strong June, after official visits and camp, with several high-profile commitments that had the nation buzzing. Clemson has added to that total in July, but for many, it’s more about the players who Clemson didn’t get than the ones who have committed.

Clemson has offered 14 offensive linemen in the 2024 recruiting cycle – 10 tackles and four interior linemen. The Tigers exited June with high hopes for four big prospects in Casey Poe, William Satterwhite, Ronan O’Connell, and Fletcher Westphal.

O’Connell committed to the Tigers, but Poe is likely headed to Alabama later this week (Wednesday announcement), Satterwhite is headed to Tennessee, and Westphal is going to Florida. Everyone around the program – including myself – felt good about Westphal last week. Then, as I mentioned in the board post, things started to get really quiet, and that’s never a good thing. Over the weekend, it appeared Westphal was trending to Florida, and sure enough, he pulled the trigger Monday.

The Tigers are looking to add another tackle, but all ten tackle offers are now committed (one to Clemson, three to South Carolina, two to Georgia, one to Oregon, one to Michigan, one to Florida, and one to Penn State).

Out of the interior guys – Poe will head to Bama and Satterwhite is headed to the Vols, leaving Jordan Seaton (Clemson didn’t make his top 14) and Jameson Riggs. Riggs has a top three of Auburn, Clemson, and Georgia Tech, but there are many things in the Jackets’ favor in this one. It will be interesting to see if and when another offer goes out. Or, could the Tigers simply wait and see what transpires in the transfer portal? That all remains to be seen.

As for feeling good about Westphal, I had one commit tell me he heard through the text message chain that Clemson finished third for the Virginia prospect.

*The Tigers are trending in the right direction for Ashton Hampton, a 3-star safety out of Tallahassee (FL) Florida St. University School. He announces July 15th, and everything right now points toward the Tigers.

*I know everyone wants to know about Mike Matthews, but all continues to be quiet out of his camp.

*Clemson, Ohio State, and Texas are in the mix for 4-star corner Corian Gipson. Clemson currently has just one corner committed in the 2024 class, 4-star Tavoy Feagin. There is a lot of smoke about Ohio St. right now, but Gipson (who told us he has a clue where he is headed), to me, is headed to either Texas or Clemson. I know the Tigers feel good about their chances, but as we’ve learned this week, things can change in a hurry.

*And finally, a little 2025 news. Running back commit Gideon Davidson, his two brothers and his adopted family, are currently in Ghana. The entire family made the trip last week to see the family of Gideon and his two brothers. It’s been 14 years since they have seen their mom, two other brothers, one sister and lots of other family.

I’ve been following their journey through Brian Davidson, and the photos are amazing. Hopefully when they all get back, we can get a recap for you.