With Andrew Beard coming off the board after announcing a commitment to Florida earlier this month, four-star Gary Walker remains the lone running back target for Clemson.

TCI hinted a week ago that Walker might not stay on the market much longer and on Monday, it was announced that he was planning to announce a commitment on Wednesday, which will come ahead of his first scheduled official visit to Stanford this weekend.

Penn State, Florida State and Virginia Tech are the other schools that have been scheduled to get officials, along with Clemson. Auburn was listed as a finalist in the Monday announcement, as well. Stanford was not.

Walker (Creekside, GA) picked up an offer from the Tigers after visiting for the Elite Retreat in March. He returned to campus in late March for a second spring visit.

The coaching staff has really made Walker the priority in recent weeks, even before Beard announced for Florida, with running backs coach C.J. Spiller doing an in-home with the blue-chip talent a few weeks back. Spiller was back at his high school on May 7 to take in one of his spring practices.

The Nittany Lions were at one time believed to be Clemson’s biggest competition. However, Penn State has landed commitments from two different running backs over the past week or so, with four-star Aiden Gibson and three-star Chukwuma Odoh both announcing verbal pledges.

I like Clemson’s chances at finishing this thing off and after not taking a running back in the last recruiting cycle, the Tigers need to hit on a high-ceiling player in this class. Walker certainly would fit that mold.

The 6-foot, 200-pound prospect rushed for 1,669 yards with 20 touchdowns as a junior, helping lead his team to a 4A state title. 247 Sports and Rivals both rank the 6-foot, 200-pound prospect as one of the eight best backs in the 2027 class, and the Composite slots him among the Top 150 players regardless of position.