Tigers dip into familiar territory for another linebacker

CJ Kubah-Taylor is the latest to Clemson linebacker room this summer.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun May 12 07:00:03 GMT-04:00 2024

The last time the Tigers pulled a linebacker out of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Frederick, Maryland, it worked out well for both sides.

The final seven members of the 2024 recruiting class will arrive on campus this summer. The First Summer session begins May 14th and runs through June 21st. The Second Summer session begins on June 27th. All of the players are expected to be on campus at that point. The transfer portal is closed for players leaving, and while Clemson can certainly add players at this point, we don’t see that happening.

Who are the final seven pieces of the puzzle? They are Drew Woodaz, CJ Kubah-Taylor, TJ Moore, Hevin Brown-Shuler, Darien Mayo, Ashton Hampton, and Christian Bentancur.

We began a series last week highlighting the final players to join the team, and today, we look at Kubah-Taylor.

Dorian O’Daniel signed with Clemson out of Our Lady of Good Counsel back in 2013. Following a redshirt season in 2013, O’Daniel fashioned four seasons with 206 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, and three interceptions before playing four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL.

The coaching staff wanted to add another linebacker late in the 2024 recruiting cycle, and Kubah-Taylor made an official visit to Clemson in late December. He received an offer and committed to Clemson a day before the early signing period.

If Barrett Carter had left early for the NFL, the coaches would have looked into the transfer portal for an older player. But when Carter decided to return, head coach Dabo Swinney and his staff decided to look for a high school player. They found what they wanted with Kubah-Taylor.

“I'm going to tell you, this Kubah-Taylor guy, he's just an example of what the portal's doing in high school recruiting,” Swinney said. “Honestly, a few years ago, this would have been a kid we wouldn't have been able to get. He would've been committed to somewhere already. This guy is a really, really good player. He's got great size and length and he's a guy that's gotten better every year."

Kubah-Taylor helped lead Good Counsel to a 10-1 record, a WCAC title, and a No. 1 final ranking in the Washington Post Top 20 in 2023. He was credited with 87 total tackles (62 solo), eight tackles for loss, six sacks, three interceptions, eight pass breakups and a forced fumble as a senior in 2023. He also recovered a fumble in the WCAC championship that set up the game-winning score against DeMatha and recorded a critical pass breakup on fourth down late in the contest.

He transferred to Good Counsel prior to his junior season in 2022 and posted 49 total tackles (41 solo), three tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups, and an interception.

“He was at a small school, then he transferred into Good Counsel and what he's done this year, this kid played really, really well,” Swinney said. “And we think he's got a lot of great days ahead of him. So excited about just who he is. He was really just the perfect fit for us. Crazy thing too, his uncle lives in Greenville and went to school here at Clemson. So really just neat family and a good fit for us.”