Clemson Makes Noise on Recruiting Trail Landing 5-Star DT Dexter Lawrence

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

For a team that is 13-0, ranked No. 1 in the nation, and has the top seed in the college football playoffs, the Clemson Tigers have been relatively quiet on the recruiting trail. The Tigers last picked up a verbal commitment, recruit No. 13 Tremayne Anchrum, on Nov. 19. On Monday, Clemson made a lot of noise landing 5-star Wake Forest defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

Lawrence is a mountain of a young man listed at 6’4”, 330 pounds. The North Carolina native pretty much had his pick of colleges to attend with schools like Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida, Florida State, Arkansas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Stanford, Michigan, South Carolina, and Michigan State all offering. Some of the teams in the running appeared to be Ohio State, official visit on Nov. 20, Alabama, official on Dec. 5, and N.C. State with an official on Dec. 11.

During Lawrence’s senior year, he helped the Cougars to a 12-1 record falling 30-21 in the second round of the playoffs to Page (Greensboro). Lawrence had few equals on the gridiron, even in double- and triple-team situations, coming up with an astonishing 91 tackles, 21 tackles for a loss, 13 sacks, and 16 quarterback hurries in just 12 games.

Clemson’s 2016 class maybe small right now but is stocked full of quality recruits. Some of the other more highly ranked players in the class include QB Zerrick Cooper, DT Nyles Pinckney, RB Tavien Feaster, WR T.J. Chase, and LB Tre Lamar.

Clemson 2016 Verbal Commitment List (14)

LB Tre Lamar 6’3”, 240 lbs, Roswell HS, Roswell, GA

LB Jamie Skalski, 6’0”, 230 lbs, Northgate HS, Newman, GA

DE Xavier Kelly, 6’4”, 255 lbs, Wichita East HS, Wichita, KS

DT Dexter Lawrence, 6’5”, 330 lbs, Wake Forest HS, Wake Forest, NC

DT Nyle Pinckney, 6’3”, 290 lbs, Whale Branch HS, Seabrook, SC

CB Brian Dawkins Jr., Fork Union Military Academy, Fork Union, VA

QB Zerrick Cooper, 6’4”, 205 lbs, Jonesboro HS, Jonesboro, GA

RB Tavien Feaster, 6’0”, 200 lbs, Spartanburg HS, Spartanburg, SC

OG Tremayne Anchrum, 6’3”, 268 lbs, McEachern HS, Powder Springs, GA

OT Sean Pollard, 6’5”, 290 lbs, Pinecrest HS, Southern Pines, NC

OT Chandler Reeves, 6’6”, 255 lbs, Eagle’s Landing, McDonough, GA

TE J.C. Chalk, 6’4”, 220 lbs, Argyle HS, Argyle, TX

WR Tavares Chase, 6’2”, 180 lbs, IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL

WR Cornell Powell, 6’1”, 180 lbs, J.H. Rose HS, Greenville, NC

 

Photo credit: twitter.com; Dexter Lawrence commits to Clemson during announcement ceremony.