CLEMSON RECRUITING

Clemson staff making the most of final days of contact period
A vital stretch of weeks soon comes to a close for Clemson's 2026 push. Among the visits was with Ohio 4-star lineman Adam Guthrie.

Clemson staff making the most of final days of contact period


by Grayson Mann - Correspondent -

A vital stretch of weeks soon comes to a close.

The recruiting calendar's dead period begins Monday, February 3rd. This leaves just the weekend for Clemson’s staff to make trips and solidify the relationships that have been growing in the last few weeks.

Still, plenty of progress has been made.

In January, Swinney’s staff traveled the country, and we’ve reported on that travel in the last few editions of our recruitment roundups.

The next major step for most of these players, whether prospects have received an offer or those with the Tigers in their final lists, will be getting on campus.

That visit for many will come for Clemson’s Elite Junior Retreat, and that list is incredibly extensive.

As we tally the final days of this contact period, what has the staff continued to do to build the 2026 class and beyond?

Starting with Samari Matthews of Hough (NC), the Tigers have a visit locked in for him, giving him a chance to get back on to campus soon.

Matthews has spoken with TigerNet extensively over the last several months, and has identified Clemson as a top contender within his recruitment. That trend continued on Friday, as Clemson was announced as a finalist, now contending with three other programs for his commitment. The other schools listed were Florida State, South Carolina, and Oregon. He hopes he will announce his commitment in July or August.

Moving forward, we haven’t reported this on the weekly series, but some nuggets we have shared that have circulated social media have been the attention given to Xavier Griffin of Gainesville.

The No. 1-rated linebacker is currently committed to USC, but that hasn’t stopped other teams from putting together a sales pitch to sway him. Mickey Conn was the first member of the staff to visit him, followed by linebackers coach Ben Boulware.

Boulware has been given some of the big fish in the pond to start his new role, signifying their confidence in what he could achieve.

We spoke last week about Adam Guthrie of Miami Trace being a vital piece to Clemson’s vision of the trenches, and that interest is undoubtedly mutual.

Swinney and Matt Luke started the week by traveling to Washington Court House (OH) to see Guthrie, who has the Tigers in his top three.

That was the start of another busy week for Luke, who spent a decent amount of time in Florida this week. Luke visited Grant Wise (Pace), Canon Pickett (Tampa), and Chancellor Barclay (Orlando).

Starting with Barclay, who talked to TigerNet this week about what ended up being a two-hour conversation with Swinney and Luke. He described the conversation as “hitting on his soul.”

“Coach Swinney was really putting a factor on how Clemson compares to all these other schools are consistent every year, and how they built their thing on faith and foundation on of course, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Barclay said. “And they're guided by him, and they're guided to be able to do the main things which are to graduate, to not just create football players, but create great men, be able to be disciplined and on and off the field and be able to win a championship.”

“So, those are the four things. Coach Swinney preached, and he was for a while. The meeting was around two hours, but all that information really hit me on my soul and just be able to preach in the name of Jesus, be able to explain how his faith and foundation have gotten him so far, and be able to create and given the opportunity, of course, he was out of Alabama, first to come to Clemson and be able to create a program that's consistent and not out throwing money and stuff like that, but doing it the right way, doing the honorable way.”

Barclay plans to visit Clemson on May 31st. He isn’t the only lineman with a summer visit scheduled; Darius Gray of Richmond (VA) also plans to visit campus in that same timeframe.

Circling back to Pickett, the Tigers have not offered him quite yet, but a campus visit could change that.

Speaking of offers, Clemson extended one to Tylan Wilson of Pascagoula (MS), making it his 19th division one offer.

His list includes schools like Alabama, Ole Miss, Syracuse, and other top programs.

As the dead period is approaching, the last week of work for this staff has been incredibly busy, ensuring no second has been wasted as the following steps are taken for the 2026 class.

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