Tigers off to strong start for 2024 class

Four-star defensive back Tavoy Feagin, who is rated as a cornerback and a safety, was Clemson's first commitment for the class.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Fri Feb 10 14:01:10 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - The Tigers are already looking ahead toward recruiting for their 2024 team, and so far, they have offered scholarships to 32 football players who have yet to make a decision and another five have already committed to playing with Clemson.

Those five are defensive lineman Champ Thompson, tight end Christian Bentancur, defensive backs Noah Dixon and Tavoy Feagin, and kicker Nolan Hauser. All five of them attended Clemson’s Elite Junior Day.

Clemson's 2024 group is ranked 13th overall and seventh on average rating per pledge in the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings currently.

Profiling Clemson's commits so far:

Champ Thompson

Champ Thompson out of Meadowcreek in Norcross, Georgia is a highly sought-after four-star recruit. In fact, he’s been given an offer by 13 other schools besides Clemson, including Alabama and the National Champions, the Georgia Bulldogs, as well as Notre Dame. He committed to the Tigers during the Elite Junior Day. Thompson was originally recruited by assistant coach and defensive run game coordinator, Nick Eason. Clemson has produced a number of elite defensive linemen, particularly in the past few years. Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee are both likely going to get drafted in the first round, meaning that Thompson will be surrounded by a talented coaching staff capable of producing NFL stars, as well as learning from his fellow teammates.

Christian Bentancur

Tight end Christian Bentanur is coming out of Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock, Illinois. He is also a highly recruited tight end, receiving a total of 37 offers. Some of these schools included the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State, and fellow ACC rivals, Boston College and Syracuse. He was also given an offer by the Gamecocks. Bentancur committed to Clemson two weeks prior to Elite Junior Day. Kyle Richardson, another assistant coach as well as the passing game coordinator, recruited him. While the Tigers used to produce elite receivers, they seem to have shifted more toward producing quality tight ends. Davis Allen has declared for the NFL Draft and has officially been invited to the NFL Combine in March, showing the talent Clemson has had with tight ends recently. Further, tight end Jake Briningstool was tied for second on the team in receiving touchdowns last season with four (Allen had five, the most out of anyone on the team). Briningstool will have three seasons under his belt by the time Bentancur starts playing for the Tigers, so he will surely have an experienced mentor to help him develop into an elite tight end.

Noah Dixon

Safety Noah Dixon is another recruit coming out of Georgia, this time from Lagrange. He was also recruited by, among others, Alabama and the Georgia Bulldogs. He committed two days after junior day on January 30. Dixon also attended the junior day for ACC-rival Georgia Tech. Despite being the second-to-last school to reportedly give him an offer, Dixon ultimately chose to come to Clemson. In his junior year in high school, the four-star recruit recorded 14 solo tackles and a total of 40 tackles, along with three sacks. Mickey Conn, assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator as well as the safeties coach, recruited him. Clemson’s defense had a total of 13 interceptions this past season and with some young players returning in the secondary, he will certainly have some mentors to look up to by the time Dixon starts playing with the Tigers.

Tavoy Feagin

Fellow defensive back Tavoy Feagin is coming to Clemson from Carrollwood Day High School in Tampa, Florida. He received a total of 48 offers from around the country, including Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, South Carolina, and TCU. Feagin committed to Clemson back in November of 2022, although Colorado still tried to make him an offer this past January. He had an unofficial visit with the Tigers back at the beginning of October. He will be joining the Tiger secondary with Dixon, so both young stars will be able to develop into elite defensive backs at the same time.

Nolan Hauser

Kicker Nolan Hauser is the only kicker that the Tigers have given an offer to for the 2024 class thus far. He is not ranked as a recruit, but he did receive some interest from some other colleges, those being Maryland, NC State and North Carolina. He is from Cornelius, North Carolina. Maryland and North Carolina both gave him an offer back in June of 2022, while NC State presented Hauser their offer on November 14 of last year. Five days later, Clemson gave their offer and the Monday after Thanksgiving, he committed to Clemson. With BT Potter going off to the NFL, he has been invited to the NFL Combine in March, the Tigers are sure to have some competition at kicker in 2024 when Hauser joins the team.