With all the success that Clemson has experienced on the recruiting trail in the 2026 recruiting cycle, the Tigers have yet to add a running back to the class.

While only a small number of offers have gone out, four-star Jae Lamar (Colquitt County, Moultrie, GA) has emerged as the top target. Lamar visited for the first time during the spring, then returned for the big official visit weekend.

Lamar took an official to Florida State last weekend and heads to Miami this weekend. The big one comes the following weekend when he makes a stop at Georgia. He is set to announce a commitment just after that visit on June 25.

When Lamar was coming off his first visit in March, he told TCI that Clemson had moved “number one” on his board. However, he quickly backed off those comments, saying in other interviews he had no favorites.

Following his official visit two weeks ago, a source told TCI that the Tigers were “100% in the mix,” but what happens if Lamar does indeed go elsewhere?

Four-star Carsyn Baker (Langston Hughes, Fairburn, GA), who also picked up an offer during the spring, didn’t even include Clemson among his finalists, scratching the Tigers from his official visit schedule.

Four-star Javion Mallory (West Boca Raton, FL) picked up an offer from the Tigers after attending the Elite Retreat in March, but committed to Miami about two weeks later. However, Mallory might not be all that solid to the Hurricanes, seeing as he’s taking an official to Alabama this weekend. If he were to open things back up, he is certainly a name worth following.

One unoffered prospect who has been on the radar, at times, is three-star CJ Givers (Fellowship Christian, Roswell, GA). Givers told TCI he was expecting running backs coach CJ Spiller to come and check out one of his spring practices. The 5-foot-11 back has more than 30 offers in total, with Indiana, Duke and Georgia Tech having gotten official visits. He hits Virginia the weekend of June 20.

Land Lamar, and none of the other stuff matters, as the Tigers are only expected to sign one running back in the class. However, if he ends up going elsewhere, it will be interesting to see which direction Clemson goes and who the staff zeros in on next.