With Blake Hebert decommitting from Clemson last week, that leaves the Tigers still in need of a 2025 quarterback.

After missing on several of its top choices at the position early in the 2024 cycle and Chris Vizzina committing in March of last year, the coaching staff ultimately elected not to sign a quarterback in the last recruiting class. Not taking one in 2025 would mean not signing a quarterback in back-to-back classes and that absolutely wouldn’t be ideal.

“We’d love to get a guy, we will,” Dabo Swinney said last week after the decommitment. “We’ll definitely probably take a quarterback in the ’25 class, of some sort. Right now, we’ve got Paul Tyson as our fourth guy. Love Paul Tyson. So is it a Paul Tyson type of guy, or is it a high school kid, I don’t know. We’ll see how it all plays out.”

As things stand, the Tigers currently have two options. With it being so late in the cycle, all of the better high school options are already committed, meaning if the staff wants to go that route, they will likely have to flip a guy.

There are a handful of currently committed quarterbacks the staff could take a run at, but there are certainly no guarantees any can be flipped.

Seeing the way North Carolina’s season is playing out, 4-star Bryce Baker (E. Forsyth, NC) might be a possibility. Baker worked out at Dabo Swinney’s high school camp the same summer Hebert did and committed to the Tar Heels a few weeks later. If this is indeed Mack Brown’s final season in Chapel Hill, maybe there’s a chance Baker would reconsider.

NC State commit Will Wilson might be another name worth watching. The 3-star quarterback is an in-state prospect that plays at Richland Northeast. Wilson has been committed to the Wolfpack since the summer of 2023, but NC State is another team that has seen its season go off the rails.

Having watched Wilson play in person twice now, it is my opinion that he is undervalued by the recruiting services. He is a true dual-threat quarterback and dynamic as a runner. He averages more than 100 rushing yards per game as a senior. Wilson has shown a lot of improvement as a passer since taking over as the starter, as he is hitting on 68% of his throws this season with 18 touchdowns. He also camped at Clemson in the summer of ’23.

3-star Sawyer Anderson (Parish, Dallas, TX) also worked out at camp back in the summer of 2023 and is currently committed to Purdue. The Boilermakers are off to a 1-6 start, winless in Big 10 play and fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell three weeks ago. Due to the dismal start, Purdue has already suffered multiple decommitments and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley does have a relationship with Anderson that goes back to his TCU days. While he isn’t very highly-rated, Anderson can play. The biggest knock on him is his size, as Anderson is listed anywhere from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot, depending on which recruiting service you’re looking at.

One of the more intriguing possibilities is the closest to home. 3-star Cutter Woods, who is currently committed to the rival Gamecocks, is right there in Anderson at Westside. He led the Rams to a state title last season and might very well be on his way to doing the same thing this season. The offer from Clemson is one he has always wanted and like the rest of the quarterbacks on this list, he worked out at camp in the summer of 2023. He was at one time committed to Wake Forest before South Carolina offered.

Obviously, another option could be going to the portal for an older guy such as they did with Hunter Johnson and Paul Tyson. That would likely hinge on whether Cade Klubnik and Chris Vizzina are both back next season, something Swinney seems to have confidence in listening to his comments over the past week or so.

The Tigers do have two quarterbacks committed in the 2026 class in 4-star Tait Reynolds and 3-star Brock Bradley. 5-star Jared Curtis, who decommitted from Georgia last Friday, named Clemson as a school that stood out after his decommitment but the odds of the Tigers adding a third quarterback to the 2026 class likely lie somewhere between slim and none.

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!