Clemson's momentum extends to the recruiting trail: Elite Retreat success

Clemson is now blending its one-of-a-kind culture with the new world that must leverage the portal and NIL appropriately.

Ryan Kantor - Contributor - Wednesday, March 12 2025

Clemson football has won just four of its last seven games, yet it has all the momentum in the world heading into 2025.

This may seem paradoxical, yet it’s obvious to those who follow the Tigers closely. Despite two home losses in November, Clemson won the ACC Championship on a 56-yard field goal and gave the Texas Longhorns a much tougher playoff test than the experts expected. Then Clemson brought in Tom Allen, a high-energy defensive coordinator with a strong track record, to address their defensive woes.

Clemson and the 110 Society then did an exceptional job retaining top talent that could have headed to the NFL or hit the portal (like WR Antonio Williams and RT Blake Miller among others). They simultaneously upgraded talent by finally making a real splash in the transfer portal, bringing in the top edge rusher in Will Heldt (Purdue) to help set the edge against the run – a major problem last year. They also added Tristan Smith (SE Missouri St.) and Jeremiah Alexander (Alabama) to plug holes at wide receiver and linebacker, respectively.

With so much talent returning for 2025, the time is now to make a serious playoff run. Similarly, with so much talent likely to leave after 2025, the 2026 class must be strong to keep the momentum going.

The Tigers’ 2025 class ranked just 30th following a spate of late NIL-related defections (notably to Duke and Georgia Tech), adding further importance to the 2026 class. Therefore, this past week’s Elite Retreat was especially important, and the news that they landed seven commits (five offensive) was even more welcome. The 2026 recruiting class is already up to 13 members and is now ranked 2nd nationally (247).

I took some time to dig into data and highlights, and here’s what you need to know about the newest impending members of the Clemson family. I’ll focus just on the offensive commits for this article and start with the receivers:

Connor Salmin is a 4-star (ESPN, 247) WR from Potomac, Maryland, near Washington, DC. He chose Clemson over Penn State and Notre Dame. He is a 6-1 speedster who ran a 10.44 100-meter dash. It is always nice when a recruit runs track because you get hard numbers on their speed. That 10.44 compares favorably to other top recruits and is comparable to all-time Clemson speedster Jacoby Ford, who ran a 10.3 in high school. His Hudl highlights mostly show off his speed on the outside, but you also see some strong contested catches and good run blocking. After last year’s class lacked any WRs over 5-10, this combination of size and speed is exactly what the roster needed.

Naeem Burroughs is another 4-star (ESPN, 247) WR recruit. He is from Jacksonville, Florida, and had an offer from in-state Florida, as well as playoff contenders Texas and USC. Like Connor Salmin, he is a track runner, so we have hard numbers for his 100-meter speed. His 10.64 speed isn’t quite as fast as Salmin's, but it is comparable to RB Gideon Davidson (10.69), who is rightfully considered a tremendous athlete. Burroughs is smaller than Salmin at just under 6-0 and 175lbs. While Salmin is more of a deep threat because of his speed and size, Burrough’s Hudl highlights show sharp route running with more shiftiness. I could see him playing in the slot or putting him in motion in an Antonio Williams-type role.

Adam Guthrie stands at 6-7, 285 pounds, and is a 4-star by ESPN and 3-star by 247. He lives less than an hour from Columbus but chose Clemson over Ohio State and Penn State. He continues what is becoming an offensive line pipeline out of Ohio with Tucker Gattis in the 2025 class, Blake Miller currently starring on the team, and Jackson Carman in the NFL. Guthrie’s highlights show him dominating in pass protection, and while he doesn’t see many pulls on counter runs – a feature of Garrett Riley’s offense – in his highlights, his run blocking looks solid. Given his height, prowess in pass blocking, and the fact that he plays left tackle in high school, I expect him to stick at tackle.

Grant Wise is also 4-star by ESPN and 3-star by 247, but unlike Guthrie, he is 6-3. He is playing right tackle in high school in Milton, Florida (near Pensacola), but I’d expect him to move to guard or center. His highlights show he can move and loves to hit. He is physical in run blocking and is already executing plenty of pulls in high school so I see him as a great fit for Riley’s offense. Pass blocking against the raw size of college defensive tackles will be different from what I can see on film, but this is another strong win for Clemson. He visited and had major offers from Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State, and Ole Miss. This is another great win for Matt Luke.

Chancellor Barclay is a 6-3, 285-pound guard from Orlando who chose Clemson over Florida and Georgia. His run blocking looks excellent with plenty of pulls on counter runs. He was a 3-star by both ESPN and 247, but if the film looks good and other top programs seem to agree, I’m apt to lean more on those evaluations than the star ratings. His highlights don’t showcase a ton of pass blocking, but that’s probably to be expected, given his position on the interior and his great run blocking on film. Overall, there’s nothing negative to say here. Matt Luke is beating out the best programs in the country for top offensive line talent.

Clemson is now blending its one-of-a-kind culture with the new world that must leverage the portal and NIL appropriately. They’ve seemed to find their groove. I expect they’ve learned their lesson from last year about holding together the class. They’ll need to hang on to these commitments for nine more months, but right now, the Tigers' momentum couldn’t be any better.