Clemson Football Recruiting: 4-star QB Commits, 5-star OT Leaves Tigers Behind

In addition, one of the biggest names in the 2025 recruiting cycle left the Tigers behind when he announced his top-4, which didn’t include Clemson. Despite saying earlier that Clemson was his “dream school” and that he grew up a Tiger fan, David Sanders Jr. released a top-4 that included Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Nebraska.

For anyone who has followed recruiting, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Though Clemson was considered the favorite for a short period in his recruitment, things changed drastically after he made his unofficial visit to Tennessee in May and then followed that up with an official visit in June.

From numerous accounts, NIL has been a major factor in Sanders’ recruitment. The reputation of those who are now listed as finalists would confirm as much. Dabo Swinney has seen backlash from many Clemson football fans over his stance on NIL, but the coach continues to move forward with carving out his niche.

According to On3 Sports, Clemson still boasts the No. 7 overall class in the 2025 recruiting class.

It wasn’t all bad news for Clemson football recruiting this weekend

While not getting the 5-star offensive tackle might be disappointing, it wasn’t all bad news for the Tigers this weekend.

Clemson received its first commitment for the 2026 class in the form of 4-star QB Tait Reynolds.

Reynolds is obviously still developing, but it’s easy to see what Garrett Riley and Dabo Swinney like about the prospect. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds. If you’ve seen any of his videos, you can tell that he is physically impressive. Reynolds won’t need to put on a lot of weight when he gets on campus in a couple of years. He has an impressive arm and is an athlete.

In addition to being a highly-rated quarterback, Reynolds is a highly-touted baseball prospect. However, he has maintained that he is committed to playing football.

There’s no telling what the 2026 Clemson football depth chart will look like, but right now, Reynolds would join Christopher Vizzina, Trent Pearman, and current Tiger QB commit Blake Herbert (4-star QB, rated No. 19 overall in the 2025 class) as the group likely would be competing to replace Cade Klubnik.

However, it’s important to note that we haven’t even played the 2024 season, and there is no telling if there could be a transfer — in or out — that would affect the complexion of the room before Reynolds arrives.