CLEMSON — Clemson has landed a commitment from one of the top specialists in the country.
After picking up an offer on Wednesday, long snapper Jackson Reach (Mira Costa, CA) tells The Clemson Insider that he has committed to the Tigers. Rubio Long Snapping ranks the Polynesian Bowl selection as a five-star and as the second-best long snapper in the class.
“I am pumped to come in,” Reach told The Clemson Insider. “Dabo was pumped. I don’t think he knew I was going to. They just seemed excited, so I was excited.”
Reach, who also had offers from Army, Navy, Air Force, Boise State and Western Kentucky, made his first visit to campus for Clemson’s season-opener against LSU.
“It was the first big football game I had ever been to,” Reach said. “Walking in, with the fully packed stadium, it was unreal. Everything was nice. The facilities were great, the hospitality was nice and the campus is beautiful.”
Reach had a lot of interest in the other schools that had offered him, particularly Boise State, but there was one thing that pushed the Tigers past the rest of the pack.
“A big part for me was faith,” Reach added. “When I was there for the visit, I could tell with all the coaches and players that it was built around faith. Boise State was cool, but it kind of lacked that aspect of faith.”
Clemson has been looking for a long snapper for the 2026 class since the decommitment of Alex Nocco back in March. How the Tigers got in on Reach is quite the interesting story.
For a while, he thought he would end up at Notre Dame. However, the coaching staff in South Bend ultimately decided to wait until the 2027 class to add a long snapper.
“I had a weird relationship with Notre Dame,” Reach said. “I was in talks with their special teams coordinator a good bit, and it was lined up like I was going to get the offer from there. Then last minute, they had some changes going on with scholarships and where they are giving them, and they decided not to go for a 2026.”
Instead of just dropping Reach from their board, one Notre Dame assistant, Jesse Schmitt, promised he’d do what he could to help him hook up with another school, and the rest is history.
“Their special teams coach said he would put out some words for me with schools he was in contact with,” Reach said. “One of those happened to be Clemson. He gave all my info to coach (Will) Gilchrist, and from there it took off.”
Photo by Bart Boatwright