The Clemson Insider thought it would be interesting to analyze the matchups on Clemson’s 2020 schedule from a recruiting standpoint by going back and looking at where the Tigers’ projected starters were ranked as recruits versus where the projected starters for their opponents were ranked.
In this article, we break down Clemson’s game against NC State at Death Valley on Oct. 17. Below is a rundown of the projected starters for both teams, as it stands now, and their high school star ratings and prospect rankings according to the 247Sports Composite:
Clemson offense:
LT – Jackson Carman (5-star, No. 17 national, No. 2 OT)
LG – Matt Bockhorst (4-star, No. 240 national, No. 17 OG)
C – Cade Stewart (3-star, No. 2021 national, No. 163 OT)
RG – Will Putnam (4-star, No. 101 national, No. 5 OG)
RT – Jordan McFadden (3-star, No. 819 national, No. 66 OT)
TE – Braden Galloway (3-star, No. 858 national, No. 41 TE)
WR – Joseph Ngata (4-star, No. 52 national, No. 9 WR)
QB – Trevor Lawrence (5-star, No. 1 national, No. 1 QB)
RB – Travis Etienne (4-star, No. 213 national, No. 15 RB)
WR – Justyn Ross (4-star, No. 45 national, No. 7 WR)
WR – Amari Rodgers (4-star, No. 117 national, No. 16 WR)
Clemson defense:
DE – Justin Foster (4-star, No. 156 national, No. 11 WDE)
DT – Tyler Davis (4-star, No. 137 national, No. 12 DT)
DT – Nyles Pinckney (4-star, No. 327 national, No. 34 DT)
DE – Xavier Thomas (5-star, No. 3 national, No. 1 SDE)
SLB/NB – Mike Jones Jr. (4-star, No. 210 national, No. 15 OLB)
MLB – James Skalski (3-star, No. 680 national, No. 44 OLB)
WLB – Baylon Spector (3-star, No. 609 national, No. 45 S)
CB – Derion Kendrick (5-star, No. 26 national, No. 4 WR)
SS – Lannden Zanders (3-star, No. 781 national, No. 61 S)
FS – Nolan Turner (NR)
CB – Mario Goodrich (4-star, No. 114 national, No. 4 ATH)
NC State offense:
LT – Ikem Ekwonu (3-star, No. 612 national, No. 36 OG)
LG – Joe Sculthorpe (3-star, No. 1224 national, No. 66 OG)
C – Grant Gibson (3-star, No. 459 national, No. 38 DT)
RG – Timothy McKay (3-star, No. 664 national, No. 39 OG)
RT – Justin Witt (3-star, No. 619 national, No. 54 OT)
TE – Cary Angeline (4-star, No. 267 national, No. 10 TE)
X – Devin Carter (3-star, No. 739 national, No. 115 WR)
Z – Emeka Emezie (3-star, No. 533 national, No. 80 WR)
H – Thayer Thomas (NR)
QB – Devin Leary (4-star, No. 372 national, No. 16 PRO)
RB – Zonovan Knight (4-star, No. 371 national, No. 27 RB)
NC State defense:
FE – Jeffrey Gunter (2-star, No. 3843 national, No. 178 SDE)
NT – Alim McNeil (4-star, No. 191 national, No. 18 DT)
T – Dante Johnson (3-star, No. 2007 national, No. 98 SDE)
BE – Ibrahim Kante (3-star, No. 1455 national, No. 77 WDE)
BUC – Payton Wilson (4-star, No. 79 national, No. 4 OLB)
MLB – Isaiah Moore (3-star, No. 798 national, No. 54 OLB)
WLB – Levi Jones (4-star, No. 93 national, No. 6 OLB)
NIC – Tyler Baker-Williams (3-star, No. 1324 national, No. 195 WR)
CB – Teshaun Smith (3-star, No. 1090 national, No. 95 CB)
SS – Jakeen Harris (3-star, No. 1437 national, No. 120 S)
FS – Tanner Ingle (3-star, No. 904 national, No. 80 CB)
CB – Chris Ingram (3-star, No. 573 national, No. 57 CB)
Notes:
NC State’s projected starting lineups are mostly comprised of former three-star prospects with several former four-stars sprinkled in: quarterback Devin Leary, running back Zonovan Knight, tight end Cary Angeline, nose tackle Alim McNeil, linebacker Payton Wilson and linebacker Levi Jones. Two of those are former top-100 national recruits in Wilson, a sophomore, and Jones, a transfer from Southern Cal. As is the case with most of the opponents on Clemson’s 2020 schedule, the Tigers are much more talented than the Wolfpack on paper with 11 former four-star prospects, four former five-star prospects and six former top-100 national recruits. Clemson routed NC State 55-10 on the road last season, and though the Wolfpack are healthier now after being snake bitten by injuries in 2019, it would not be surprising to see a similar outcome when the two teams meet again at Death Valley this season.
**All ratings/rankings according to the 247Sports Composite
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