Recruiting update: Tigers staying busy with offensive linemen

Fletcher Westphal will announce his college destination soon and the Tigers are in a good position.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jul 05 13:05:05 GMT-04:00 2023

It may be the recruiting dead period, but things are far from quiet when it comes to Clemson.

The Tigers pulled in five commitments in June for the 2024 recruiting class – linebacker Sammy Brown, wide receiver Bryant Wesco, wide receiver TJ Moore, defensive lineman Darien Mayo, and ended the month with a pledge from safety Ricardo Jones.

The month of July started off with some fireworks when Ronan O’Connell chose the Tigers to give Clemson its first offensive lineman of the class.

It appears that more fireworks are to come.

Four-star 2024 Leesburg (VA) offensive tackle Fletcher Westphal announced he will make a pledge on July 10. Westphal came away impressed with an early June official visit to Clemson.

“The family environment of Clemson stands out,” Westphal said. “Everyone's connected, everyone's close. It's not just like one unit is connected, the entire team is connected. I think kind of a big thing was on Saturday when we got to breakfast, and I was talking with the president of the university. Obviously the president of the university is going to know Coach Swinney and he’s going to talk to Coach Swinney. But he’s also talking with the players. He knows the players. Like I said, everyone is connected.”

Westphal went on to official visits to Georgia, Florida and Arkansas this month.

My two cents – love Clemson’s chances here. I guess I’ve been doing this so long that when I talk to recruits, I can tell when one is a fit or not. He seems like a perfect fit, and hopefully we can get you more info in the coming days.

Another offensive lineman set to announce is big Texas prospect Casey Poe. I get the feeling he is headed to Alabama.

Coming off an official visit to Tennessee last weekend, one of the Clemson’s top offensive-line targets announced Sunday that he's now just days away from making his college decision. Four-star offensive lineman William Satterwhite of Akron (OH) Archbishop Hoban posted on his Twitter account that he's set to reveal his commitment on Friday.

The 6-foot-4.5, 300-pound Satterwhite will be choosing between Tennessee and Clemson, the two schools that hosted him on official visits last month. He traveled to Clemson on his first official visit the weekend of June 2 before returning to Tennessee last weekend for his official visit with the Vols.

Satterwhite collected 32 overall offers over the course of his recruitment, and narrowing down his recruitment to a final two came down to schools that feel like home.

“Really just the atmosphere and the academics,” Satterwhite told TigerNet of what stands out about Clemson and Tennessee. “It feels like home for me, and the staff at both are just so loving and friendly.”

Satterwhite is ranked the No. 191 overall prospect and No. 11 interior offensive lineman in the 2024 class and the No. 7 rising senior from the state of Ohio, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He's also rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports, where he's ranked the No. 20 interior offensive lineman in the 2024 class and the No. 11 rising senior from Ohio.

“I have a great relationship with the staff at Clemson,” he said. “It’s like I’m already a part of the Clemson family. They love my character, my play style, and my family. I hear from coach Austin and coach Dabo Swinney the most.”

Clemson’s ’24 commits have been very active on social media in recruiting other top players to join them, and Satterwhite has been one of the targets of the player recruitment.

“It just shows that they want the best players to compete against, to become better players, and have a better program to play for,” Satterwhite said.

My two cents again – he is hard to read, and I don’t have an indication that he’s given the Clemson staff any word on his decision. My guess as of right now? Tennessee.