No school can win them all.

Over the past month, it sure has felt like the Tigers have won them all, with Clemson securing 15 commitments during that stretch. The 2027 recruiting class has gone from being ranked outside of the Top 30 to inside the Top 10 at 247Sports. It’s been a hot streak unlike any seen in recent years.

However, at some point, the good fortune has to end, and it appears that is what is about to happen with four-star linebacker target Sean Fox. Last week, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound prospect took an official visit to Kentucky. The Wildcats came out of that visit with a lot of momentum.

As we got deeper into the week, Fox, who was on hand for the Elite Retreat and the big official visit weekend, started to trend heavily towards Clemson, with several predictions coming in for the Tigers. After speaking with one source late Thursday, I was pretty confident Fox was going to pop for Clemson sometime in the coming days. But it is never over until it’s over.

After speaking with that same source late Friday, it’s sounding like Kentucky has countered with an offer big enough to sway Fox back in that direction. It’s no secret that the Wildcats have been throwing some money around in the 2027 class.

Clemson already has two linebackers committed in the current class, with four-star Bryce Kish announcing in March and three-star Max Brown jumping on board last summer. The staff wants to add one more, and three-star RJ Howard is on an official visit to campus this weekend.

Howard has already taken an official to Maryland and was originally planning to be at Syracuse this weekend. He quickly changed his schedule after picking up his offer from Clemson last weekend. He is planning to announce a commitment next Friday. Had Fox ultimately committed to the Tigers, Howard would still have been a take.

Missing on one target certainly doesn’t take away from all the good Clemson has accomplished on the trail in the past month. If you can land Howard, and possibly win out on a couple more of the ongoing battles for four-star DT Seth Tillman, four-star CB Jayden Aparicio-Bailey and four-star S Seth Williams, that would be a nice way to cap off the class.

Photo courtesy of Sean Fox on X (formerly known as Twitter)