Where will the Tigers look next for a 2024 quarterback?

Jadyn Davis is a 5-star QB Clemson has offered who has not committed and Clemson has been in contact.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Feb 06 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2023

Where do the Tigers go from here in the search for a 2024 quarterback? That’s a good question, and there are a few different ways the coaches can decide to go.

There was a lot of optimism surrounding the announcement of 4-star quarterback Walker White of Little Rock (AR) Christian last Friday, and even as late as Thursday evening I was told that the Tigers felt like they were in great shape. After all, White had visited Clemson the previous weekend for Elite Junior Day, got along with several of the other prospects, and then went home and announced he was committing.

His other two choices were Auburn and Baylor, but I was told that Baylor wasn’t really in play, that it was going to come down to Clemson and Auburn. White chose Auburn, and now the Tigers have move on and look in other directions.

Clemson has, to date, offered just three quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Those three are White (Auburn), DJ Lagway (Florida) and 4-star Jadyn Davis of Charlotte (NC) Providence Day School. Davis is considered by most to be a heavy lean to Michigan, but I spoke with Jadyn’s father, Jeremiah Davis, on Sunday, and he said Clemson is still very much in play and that Riley has spoken with Jadyn since taking over as the Tigers’ new offensive coordinator last month.

Another quarterback that Riley has checked in on is 4-star Jake Merklinger of Savannah (GA) Calvary Day School. Merklinger visited Clemson for the NC State game last fall. Merklinger is drawing heavy interest from Tennessee, Michigan State, Arkansas, and Virginia Tech. It will be interesting to see if, or when, Merklinger receives a Clemson offer.

Another name to watch, at least for now, is a prospect that Riley already knows – 4-star and TCU commit Marcos Davila of Midland (TX) Midland Legacy. Davila committed to the Horned Frogs, where he was recruited by Riley, back on December 22nd. But that hasn’t stopped the offers from continuing to roll in – he was offered by Colorado and Deion Sanders on Jan. 4th, and Purdue and Texas A&M soon followed.

TCU hired Kendall Briles away from Arkansas, and this is where it gets interesting. Briles might want to bring in his own quarterback, and while he was at Arkansas he was high on Frisco (TX) Emerson 4-star Michael Hawkins. The Hogs, after Briles left, decided to throw in on the Walker White sweepstakes and were shut out there, and Briles brought in Hawkins for a visit (along with Davila) last weekend to TCU.

Hawkins’ dad played at Oklahoma, and it was long thought that Hawkins would choose between the Sooners and the Hogs. Now the Horned Frogs are a major player, and could that mean that Davila is looking elsewhere? That remains to be seen.

And now that teams are scrambling for the top quarterbacks in the class, everybody came calling for 3-star Will Hammond of Hutto (TX). Hammond committed to Texas Tech in early December, but since then Hammond has received offers from Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn, Penn State, and Oregon. See a trend? The same schools are going after many of the same players, even if those players are committed, and it appears that right now it’s a mad scramble.

Who will receive the next Clemson offer? We are all in wait-and-see mode.