CLEMSON, S.C. — After signing 12 new members of the Clemson Family during the early signing period in December, an additional eight future student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday to play football at Clemson. The group will be joined by transfer quarterback Hunter Johnson, whose return to Clemson was announced on Jan. 21.
Full bios on Clemson’s signees and five preferred walk-ons announced on Wednesday are linked at Signing Day Central on ClemsonTigers.com. Included below are additional notes on the full class of 20 high school football student-athletes signed by Clemson this year:
RANKINGS REPORT– Clemson’s signees include nine members of the Rivals250: QB Cade Klubnik, CB Jeadyn Lukus, OL Collin Sadler, CB Toriano Pride Jr., OL Blake Miller, LB T.J. Dudley, WR Adam Randall, S Sherrod Covil Jr. and WR Antonio Williams.– The group also includes nine members of the ESPN300: CB Jeadyn Lukus, QB Cade Klubnik, WR Antonio Williams, OL Collin Sadler, WR Adam Randall, CB Toriano Pride Jr., S Sherrod Covil Jr., OL Blake Miller and DT Caden Story.– The group of signees also features seven members of the 247Sports Top247: QB Cade Klubnik, CB Jeadyn Lukus, CB Toriano Pride Jr., WR Antonio Williams, WR Adam Randall, DT Caden Story and S Sherrod Covil Jr.– Entering this year, Clemson’s recruiting classes finished in the top 15 of at least one primary recruiting service (ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports) every year since 2011. Clemson is one of only seven schools to produce a Top 15 class in each of the previous 11 recruiting cycles, a group that also includes Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Pending final signings and rankings updates, Clemson appears on pace to extend that streak with its 2022 class.– To date, every signing class in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure except the Class of 2021 has won at least one ACC Championship. All nine classes from 2012-2020 earned at least one College Football Playoff berth.
#CLEMSONFAMILY– TE Josh Sapp (Greenville, S.C.) is the son of former Clemson letter-winner Patrick Sapp, who played both quarterback and outside linebacker in his time at Clemson from 1992-95 before becoming a second-round pick of the San Diego Chargers in 1996. The multi-talented elder Sapp led Clemson in pass efficiency in 1992 and 1993 then led Clemson in sacks on defense in 1995.– When he signed in December, the younger Sapp became the first son of a former Clemson letter-winner to sign with the Tigers since 2019, when Clemson inked WR Brannon Spector (son of WR Robbie Spector).– Clemson added another father-son legacy on Wednesday, signing RB Keith Adams Jr. (St. George, Utah). He is the son of Clemson Athletic Hall of Famer Keith Adams, a two-time All-American at linebacker who starred for the Tigers from 1998-2000.– Clemson signed three players on Wednesday who are brothers of former Clemson All-Americans: LB Kobe McCloud (Tampa, Fla.), DE Jahiem Lawson (Central, S.C.) and WR Cole Turner (Vestavia Hills, Ala.).– McCloud is the brother of Ray-Ray McCloud, a former Clemson wide receiver and return specialist who was a 2017 PFF All-American as a returner. Ray-Ray just completed his fourth NFL season after a Clemson career spanning 2015-17.– Lawson is the brother of Shaq Lawson, a former Clemson defensive end who earned consensus All-American status in 2015. After a standout Clemson career spanning 2013-15, Lawson was a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and just completed his sixth NFL season.– Turner is the brother of Nolan Turner, a former Clemson safety who was a 2020 All-America selection from the AFCA. Turner appeared in 65 games at Clemson from 2016-21 and was selected to Thursday’s East-West Shrine Bowl in preparation for the 2022 NFL Draft.
PALMETTO PRIDE– Clemson tapped into a talent-rich class in its own state this year, signing six players from the state of South Carolina: DE Jahiem Lawson, CB Jeadyn Lukus, WR Adam Randall, OL Collin Sadler, TE Josh Sapp, WR Antonio Williams– Clemson’s six South Carolina signings are its most since signing eight players from the state in 2018.– With the additions of Randall (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Williams (Irmo, S.C.), Clemson signed two in-state wide receivers in a single class for the first time since 2011, when Clemson signed Dorman’s Charone Peake and Adam Humphries, a duo that has gone on to combine for more than 325 receptions and more than 3,200 receiving yards in the NFL.– Randall will be Clemson’s first receiver from the Myrtle Beach area since Hunter Renfrow (2014-18), who began his storied Clemson career as a walk-on.– Sadler (Inman, S.C.) becomes the first in-state offensive lineman signed by Clemson since 2018, when the Tigers signed Spartanburg’s Jordan McFadden out of Dorman. McFadden has started every game for Clemson over the last two seasons and was a 2021 All-ACC selection.
GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN– Clemson’s high school recruiting class represents nine states: South Carolina (six), Alabama (five), Florida (three), Texas (one), Georgia (one), Missouri (one), Ohio (one), Utah (one) and Virginia (one). The transfer addition of Hunter Johnson (Brownsburg, Ind./Northwestern University) would represent a 10th different state.– After beginning his prep career in Georgia, RB Keith Adams Jr. finished his high school career at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah. Adams becomes the first Clemson Football signee from Utah on record back to 1972.– Swinney had added a new state six times in seven cycles from 2015-22: Utah in 2022; Kentucky in 2020; California, Michigan and Pennsylvania in 2019; Missouri in 2018; Indiana and Louisiana in 2017; Colorado, Kansas and Texas in 2016; and Massachusetts in 2015. The only recruiting class in that span in which Swinney signed players exclusively from existing pipelines was 2021.– Since 1972, Clemson has signed student-athletes to football scholarships from 35 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.– Clemson added three players from the state of Florida: PK Robert Gunn (Seminole), LB Kobe McCloud (Gaither) and LB Wade Woodaz (Wesley Chapel), giving Clemson 19 Florida signees in the last four years. Clemson has now signed multiple players from Florida in four straight classes for the first time since 2013-16, when Clemson signed future NFL players Mackenzie Alexander, Jayron Kearse, Artavis Scott, Ray-Ray McCloud, Deon Cain and Trayvon Mullen, among others, from Florida.– With the addition of S Sherrod Covil Jr. (Chesapeake, Va.), Clemson has now signed at least one player from Virginia in each of its last four classes for the first time since a seven-class streak from 1976-82. Clemson has signed eight players from Virginia since 2015, all but one of whom (OL Tristan Leigh) were defensive players. Included among that defensive group from Virginia are 2018 Ted Hendricks Award winner Clelin Ferrell (2015), 2019 Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP Chad Smith (2015), current Philadelphia Eagle K’Von Wallace (2016) and current Tigers Sheridan Jones (2019) and Malcolm Greene (2020).– Though he lists his hometown as St. Louis, Mo., CB Toriano Pride Jr. finished his high school career in East St. Louis, Ill., the first Illinois high school player to sign with Clemson since 2006.
LONE STAR STATE STAR– Cade Klubnik became Clemson’s second signing out of Austin, Texas in the last two years, joining 2021 Freshman All-American and ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Andrew Mukuba.– Klubnik hails from Austin’s Westlake High School, which produced Super Bowl MVPs Drew Brees and Nick Foles, as well as NFL quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Westlake is one of only two high schools in the country to produce two different quarterbacks who started in Super Bowl victories; the other is Louisiana’s Isidore Newman (Peyton and Eli Manning).– With the signings of Klubnik (2022), Mukuba (2021) and R.J. Mickens (2020), Clemson has now signed a player from Texas in three consecutive classes for the first time since 1989-91. Klubnik is the first Texas quarterback signed by Clemson since that 1989 class (Harlingen’s Garth Fennegan).– According to consensus rankings from major recruiting services, Klubnik becomes Clemson’s fifth five-star quarterback signee in its last nine classes, joining Deshaun Watson (2014), Hunter Johnson (2017), Trevor Lawrence (2018) and DJ Uiagalelei (2020). With Uiagalelei entering his junior season and Johnson transferring back to Clemson, Clemson will have three five-star quarterbacks on its 2022 roster.
O-H TO C-U– OL Blake Miller (Strongsville, Ohio) became Clemson’s third signee from Ohio since 2017.– Both Ohio products preceding Miller at Clemson in recent years were offensive linemen who earned all-conference honors during their Clemson tenures. OL Matt Bockhorst (Cincinnati, Ohio) signed in 2017 and was a second-team All-ACC pick in 2020 who played in 47 career games at Clemson with 20 starts. OT Jackson Carman (Fairfield, Ohio) signed in 2018 and was a second-team All-American and All-ACC honoree who was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 46 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Carman is one of four former Clemson players on rosters of teams set to play in Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13.
BRING A FRIEND– For the second straight year, Clemson signed at least one pair of teammates from the same high school, adding Collin Sadler and Josh Sapp out of Greenville (S.C.) High School in December and LB T.J. Dudley and S Kylon Griffin out of Montgomery (Ala.) Catholic Preparatory on Wednesday. Clemson has signed at least one pair of high school teammates in four out of its last five classes and has now signed multiple pairs of high school teammates for the first time since 2018.– 2022: Greenville (S.C.) HS (Collin Sadler and Josh Sapp);Montgomery (Ala.) Catholic Preparatory (T.J. Dudley and Kylon Griffin)– 2021: Westlake (Ga.) HS (Dacari Collins and Nate Wiggins)– 2020: N/A– 2019: Archer (Ga.) HS (Andrew Booth Jr. and Jalyn Phillips)– 2018: South Pointe (S.C.) HS (Derion Kendrick and B.T. Potter);IMG (Fla.) Academy (Mike Jones Jr. and Xavier Thomas)– One year after signing QB/WR Will Taylor out of Dutch Fork High School (Irmo, S.C.), Clemson signed WR Antonio Williams out of Dutch Fork.– With Williams’ addition, Clemson once again signed a pair of high school teammates over a two-year cycle. In 2020 and 2021, Clemson signed teammates out of St. John Bosco High School in California (D.J. Uiagalelei in 2020, Beaux Collins in 2021) and Damascus High School in Maryland (Bryan Bresee in 2020, Ryan Linthicum in 2021). Clemson signed teammates from Central High School in Phenix City, Ala. three straight years from 2018-20 (Justyn Ross in 2018, Ray Thornton in 2019, E.J. Williams in 2020), and added preferred walk-on Caleb Nix out of that school in 2022.
