Looking ahead to the 2028 recruiting class, linebacker will no doubt be a position of need for Clemson.

After losing Luke Ferrelli to Ole Miss, Jeremiah Alexander entering his final season and Sammy Brown draft eligible after the coming season, the Tigers are going to have to restock that room, so to speak. Some of that work will be done in the current recruiting cycle, but that doesn’t make what happens in 2028 any less important.

When Clemson starts handing out offers to recruits in the 2028 class in a couple of weeks, one linebacker name to know is four-star Jay Schell (Rabun Gap, GA). The blue-chip talent is a legacy recruit, with his father Matt Schell, serving as a quarterback on the team during the Tommy Bowden years. That means he grew up rooting for the Tigers, attending numerous games over the years.

Now he is getting to experience being recruited by Clemson.

“It definitely has been,” Schell told TCI in a previous interview. “I grew up going to games, watching them. We have my dad’s jersey hanging up in the house. So Clemson has definitely always been one of my dream schools. That has further made me enjoy going on the visits. It’s just been cool knowing my dad has done the same things. My dad went on visits and played at Clemson, and now I am having the opportunity to be recruited by them.”

Schell worked out at camp last summer, then visited twice last fall. He returned in April for the Spring Elite Day. Linebackers coach Ben Boulware has also made multiple stops at his school during the current contact period.

While Schell won’t be able to make it to camp this time around, he’s hoping to get by for an unofficial visit possibly in late May, just before the start of camp. Either way, Schell is a good candiate to land one of the Tigers’ opening offers at the position.

He already has close to 40 offers, with LSU, Texas A&M and Ole Miss being a few of the latest to pull the trigger.

As a sophomore, Schell logged 77 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, three sacks and 12 quarterback hurries. Rivals ranks the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder No. 136 overall and No. 11 among all linebackers in the 2028 class.

Photo by Bart Boatwright