Scholarship numbers: Where the Tigers stand after first week of the portal

Clemson's roster is continuing to evolve this offseason.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Apr 23 07:00:03 GMT-05:00 2024

College football programs aim to have 85 scholarships when the entire team gathers as a unit for the first time over the summer. Where does Clemson stand heading into the final week of the transfer portal?

Clemson has had two scholarship players enter the portal, and both have come this week. Defensive end Adam Kissayi entered the portal and quickly announced a commitment to Minnesota – the school he was originally committed to and probably a better fit – and offensive lineman Zack Owens entered the portal Monday.

Clemson hasn’t had anyone join the team outside of the portal, which isn’t a big surprise.

As of this writing, we have Clemson at 83 scholarships. Those numbers include snapper Holden Caspersen, who was on scholarship last season, and the summer enrollees. Based on what I’ve seen in the past, Clemson’s coaches use this as a general guideline for scholarship numbers based off of position (numbers can and do fluctuate):

Quarterback – 5
Running back – 5
Wide receiver – 10
Tight end – 5
Offensive line – 15
Defensive line – 15
Linebacker – 9
Defensive backs -15
Special teams – 3

That makes for a total of 82, with three scholarships to use elsewhere, as needed at other position groups, or for deserving walk-ons.

Of course, Clemson doesn’t have five scholarship quarterbacks at this point – the Tigers have three. Two of those belong to Cade Klubnik and Christopher Vizzina, with the third going to Paul Tyson, who is in line to help coach the quarterbacks this season but can play in an emergency situation. I can also see a scenario where Trent Pearman is given a scholarship before the start of the season.

It’s my plan to do a series on where Clemson stands on numbers with this recruiting cycle, looking at scholarship numbers and targets. For instance, if you look at quarterback scenarios, Clemson has one signee in 2025, Blake Hebert, and hasn’t offered anyone for 2026.

Here is the scholarship breakdown by position, as it stands today:

Quarterback (3) - Cade Klubnik, Christopher Vizzina, Paul Tyson

Running backs (5) - Phil Mafah, Keith Adams Jr., Jarvis Green, Jay Haynes, David Eziomume

Wide receivers (10) - Troy Stellato, Cole Turner, Noble Johnson, Bryant Wesco, Antonio Williams, Ronan Hanafin, Misun Kelley, TJ Moore, Adam Randall, Tyler Brown

Tight ends (5) - Jake Briningstool, Josh Sapp, Markus Dixon, Christian Bentancur, Olsen Patt-Henry

Offensive line (14) - Marcus Tate, Tristan Leigh, Collin Sadler, Ian Reed, Ronan O'Connell, Trent Howard, Ryan Linthicum, Harris Sewell, Watson Young, Walker Parks, Blake Miller, Dietrick Pennington, Mason Wade, Elyjah Thurmon.

Defensive tackle (9) - DeMonte Capehart, Caden Story, Stephiylan Green, Champ Thompson, Payton Page, Peter Woods, Vic Burley, Hevin Brown-Shuler, Tré Williams. (Worth noting – both Woods and Story will start fall camp at defensive end).

Defensive end (6) - Cade Denhoff, Jahiem Lawson, Zaire Patterson, TJ Parker, Darien Mayo, AJ Hoffler (this number looks better if you add Woods and Story).

Linebacker (8) - Barrett Carter , Wade Woodaz, Kobe McCloud, Dee Crayton, Sammy Brown, Jamal Anderson, Drew Woodaz, CJ Kubah-Taylor.

Safeties (10) - RJ Mickens, Sherrod Covil Jr., Kylon Griffin, Robert Billings, Ricardo Jones, Tyler Venables, Khalil Barnes, Kylen Webb, Noah Dixon, Joe Wilkinson.

Cornerbacks (8) Jeadyn Lukus, Myles Oliver, Branden Strozier, Tavoy Feagin, Avieon Terrell, Ashton Hampton, Shelton Lewis, Corian Gipson.

Special teams (5) - Aidan Swanson, Holden Caspersen, Robert Gunn, Nolan Hauser, Jack Smith.

That number of 83 means Clemson could, if it desired, add to players via the portal. That number goes down to one if you add Pearman, and there is wiggle room if you take a scholarship away from the long snapper. Or if a quarterback was added before the start of the season, perhaps Tyson’s scholarship wouldn’t count.

Or, as has been the case under head coach Dabo Swinney, you add two (or one) scholarship to the 2025 class.