CLEMSON — CJ Kubah-Taylor was a late addition to Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class. A very late addition.

While he never went public with his decision, for a short time, late in the cycle, Kubah-Taylor was a silent commit to Temple. Putting off going public ended up paying off, as a short time later, he learned Clemson wanted him to come in for an official visit.

Kubah-Taylor, who was a high school teammate of current defensive end Darien Mayo, took that visit in early December of 2023, committing on the spot. Although he didn’t go public until the day before the start of the early signing period. That decision seems to be working out for both parties.

After only appearing in two games while redshirting last season, by all accounts, Kubah-Taylor is much further along now that he’s had a year in the program. After the Tigers scrimmaged for the first time in fall camp on Saturday, Dabo Swinney went on record saying that Kubah-Taylor reminds him of another linebacker who ended up having a stellar career at Clemson.

“He reminds me a little bit of BJ Goodson,” the head coach said.

“The kid is an explosive hitter. He is a true thumper.”

With older players like Wade Woodaz, Sammy Brown, Kobe McCloud and Dee Crayton ahead of him on the depth chart, the Tigers can afford to let Kubah-Taylor come along at his own pace. He has all of the tools needed to be a solid linebacker for Clemson at some point in the future, particularly the physical attributes, which Swinney has already seen.

“Kubah-Taylor is one of those guys when he hits people, people clap,” Swinney added. “He is just a naturally physical guy. He’s not a complete player yet, but he’s got the attributes you like in a linebacker.”

While he isn’t likely to rack up a ton of snaps on defense this season, expect to see him have a role on special teams as he continues to develop.

“He just has to put it all together. He is just a guy that is going to develop. He will be a special-teams guy for us.”

Photo courtesy of Bart Boatwright