It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report and it’s a doozy.
We hope everyone is enjoying the July 4th holiday.
Are the clouds are parting for one five-star?
Early last month, we told you that five-star athlete Mike Matthews was extremely high on the Tigers following his official visit.
After his time in Clemson, Matthews took official visits to Georgia, Tennessee and USC, with some sources believing Tennessee has taken a slight lead in his recruitment.
The Tigers remain in hot pursuit of the 6-foot-1, 180-pound two-way player however. Clemson commits are using a #WeWantMike campaign on Twitter in an effort to lure him to Tigertown.
The time for a decision is getting closer for Matthews. Can the Tigers regain the lead and get him back on campus for the cookout in late July? Closing time is here.
Will the Tigers finally land an offensive line commit?
Clemson hosted six offensive lineman during their big official visit weekend last month, but has yet to land a commitment from any of them.
Only four-star offensive tackle Michael Uini, who committed to Georgia last week, has come off the board at the time of writing. However, fellow four-star tackle Casey Poe is seemingly trending towards Alabama, but the Tigers are still in pursuit.
That leaves four offensive lineman as realistic options for Clemson and three of them are very much trending in the right direction.
Fred J. Page (TN) interior lineman Ronan O’Connell, Archbishop Hoban (OH) tackle William Satterwhite and Tuscarora (VA) tackle Fletcher Westphal, all four-stars with commitment dates in the next seven days, are serious contenders to end up a Tiger.
The first to commit will be O’Connell, who will announce his decision on July 4. While the 6-foot-5, 265-pound interior lineman is extremely high on the Tigers, the in-state Tennessee Volunteers have long been one of his top schools. It could be a sunny 4th of July in Clemson. Dabo and the Tigers have positioned themselves to possibly steal one from the Vols.
Satterwhite will be the second of the group to commit and is scheduled to announce on Friday. It is another battle between the Tigers and Volunteers.
Since April, Clemson has had Satterwhite on campus for two visits, including an appearance at the program’s big official visit weekend in early June. But it was the Volunteers who got his last official visit, which came just over a week ago. While some believe his recruitment is still up in the air, the Tigers continue to feel good about their chances of landing Satterwhite.
Westphal will be the last of the three to commit and is another player the Tigers have hopes for. Another official visitor, he described the contents of the weekend as ‘liquid gold’ and has been high on the program for awhile.
Clemson got the first of four official visits and set the bar exceptionally high, something Westphal reiterated in his interview with TCI. We like where the Tigers stand right now from what we have heard. Next week could be another sunny day in Clemson when Westphal announces his decision.
Nobody orchestrates a series of commitment announcements quite like Dabo Swinney. Is the maestro at it again? The college football world will know in that answer soon.
Clemson camps garner rave reviews
As you may have read on TCI numerous times this week, thousands of student athletes flocked to Clemson for their annual summer camps last month.
We have conducted more than 50 interviews with campers and have not heard one negative statement about the camp. Not only that, but numerous recruits have tabbed Clemson as the best camp they have attended.
“The Clemson camp was the best camp I went to,” 2026 offensive lineman Gavin Blanchard said. “It felt more like they were trying to get me better and less of like an evaluation.”
A plethora of recruits are echoing the same thing about the camps, which is that the coaches actually focus on improving you as a player rather than testing your athleticism.
“Every other camp I’ve been to felt rushed and more intense,” 2025 lineman Terry Nwabuisi-Ezeala said. “It was like you have to get everything right in front of all these coaches that are looking at you and do everything mistake-free, but at Clemson I felt more individual coaching and learning.”
It’s no wonder why thousands of athletes flock to Clemson every year for the program’s camp and it does not sound like the trend is slowing down anytime soon.