Clemson Lands Top 10 Running Back, Fifth Four-Star Commit in 2027 Class

Clemson Lands Top 10 Running Back, Fifth Four-Star Commit in 2027 Class

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Clemson Lands Top 10 Running Back, Fifth Four-Star Commit in 2027 Class
Four-star RB Gary Walker has officially committed to the Clemson Tigers, choosing the program over Penn State, among others.
Four-star RB Gary Walker has officially committed to the Clemson Tigers, choosing the program over Penn State, among others. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Following the commitment of four-star safety Jarrell Chandler on Monday, another Clemson Tigers target, running back Gary Walker, announced that he'd be committing on Wednesday, May 20. The schools he'd be selecting from included Clemson, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Florida and Auburn.

Now that time has passed, and Walker has officially locked in his commitment with the Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney.

He's rated a four-star prospect and ranks as the No. 145 overall player, the No. 7 player at his position and the No. 14 recruit in the state of Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite.

The 6-foot, 200-pound back from Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia, had a modest offer sheet heading into his junior season – just six schools, including Georgia State, Boston College, UMass, Toledo, Memphis, and Liberty – but that changed quickly once he broke out on the field.

In his dominant junior campaign, Walker boasted 178 carries for 1,669 yards – nearly a first-down per carry – and 20 touchdowns while assisting Creekside to a GHSA 4A State Championship win over Benedictine High School. The Seminoles finished 16-0 on the season, and ranked as the No. 5 team in Georgia and No. 19 team nationally.

The absurd numbers, combined with a state championship ring, culminated in an excess of attention, leading Walker to receive 28 scholarship offers from some of the biggest programs in the country within a seven-month span.

Walker visited each of his finalists unofficially in the spring, with Auburn and Florida State each hosting him twice, while Clemson, Florida, Virginia Tech and Penn State each had him on campus for just one visit.

However, of the visits, the Tigers' annual Elite Retreat caught the most attention from Walker, citing the program's connection with God, how close it is to home (a two-hour drive) and the whole staff, rather than just running backs coach C.J. Spiller, making him a priority, according to On3's Chad Simmons.

Since then, a handful of experts across multiple sites had predicted the four-star talent would ultimately commit to Clemson.

247Sports Clemson Insider's Austin Hannon and Cory Fravel were the first to the punch, logging their crystal balls in late March, while Lions247 Staff Writer Tyler Calvaruso followed suit in the first week of April.

As his commitment drew closer, On3's Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons aligned on the same prediction, with Wiltfong forecasting Walker to the Tigers two weeks ago and Simmons following suit Tuesday morning.

With Walker now officially in the fold, Clemson's 2027 recruiting class is now the 16th-best in the country and the second-best in the ACC.

The Tigers will most likely not go after another player at his position, with the only other two extended offers having gone to four-star Andrew Beard – who committed to Florida nearly two weeks ago – and in-state talent David Segarra, who left the Tigers out of his final five.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/clemson as Clemson Lands Top 10 Running Back, Fifth Four-Star Commit in 2027 Class.

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