Analyzing Clemson Tigers Football 2027 Defensive Recruiting Class

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Clemson is on a recruiting tear. It’s gotten so good that I dove into highlights and scouting reports of every offensive recruit and did a full breakdown. You can view that here.Now it is time to do the same on the defensive side of the ball.Check out my video breakdown below or the full article below that:

Defensive End

Desmond Malpress (6-3, 205) – 247Sports Composite: 4-star / 0.9381

Malpress visited U of SC at the start of May but then visited Clemson at the end of the month and quickly committed. He also had offers from Miami, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. He tallied 6.5 sacks in 6 games as a junior and looks like an impressive pass rusher. He only weights 205lbs so he’ll need to pack on some muscle to be successful in P4 football. We’ll see if he becomes a pass rush specialist or outside linebacker or if he can add enough weight to become a well-rounded defensive end. In any case, he is Clemson’s highest rated DE recruit since TJ Parker in the class of 2023. That’s a big deal and much needed.

Santana Harvey (6-3.5, 230) – 247Sports Composite: 4-star / 0.9100

Tallying 12 sacks as junior, Harvey was a top 25 recruit in the football rich state of Florida. At 230lbs, he has the size and strength that will translate to ACC competition. He shows both speed and power in his film and even plays some snaps on the interior. Notre Dame was after him, but he canceled his visit to commit to Clemson. Perhaps his upside is slightly lower than Malpress which would explain his lower rating, but he looks more ready — at least in terms of strength.

JiQuan Rogers(6-3, 225) – 247Sports Composite: 3-star / 0.8650

Coach Rumph and the Tigers were ahead of the curve on the recruitment of JiQuan Rogers, giving him his first P4 offer before his stock began soaring. He is from Birmingham, but neither Alabama nor Auburn were in on the recruitment. He gets to the QB quickly. He lines up in both 5-tech and 7-tech and blasts towards the ball. Clemson was able to secure his commitment prior to scheduled visits to Georgia Tech, Arkansas, and Florida and get him to shut it down. Only a 3-star, but I was more impressed with his highlight reel than many of Clemson’s higher rated recruits.

Coach Rumph got off to a bit of a slow start in his return to Clemson. The DE room was a bit bare and his big recruit Ari Watford tore his ACL in high school. Then TJ Parker regressed. Now things feel like they’re going his way with Heldt returning, London Merritt and CJ Wesley joining through the portal, and this excellent class of three DEs after only pulling 3-star recruits in the prior class.

Defensive Tackle

Jaden Wuerth (6-2, 270) – 247Sports Composite: 3-star / 0.8867

Wuerth played in Augusta, GA before moving to Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, SC where they won a state title. His highlights show a run-stuffer with better speed and ability to get to the QB than one might expect with his 270 lbs frame. South Carolina was the main competition for his services, but Miami, NC State, and Georgia Tech also wanted in too.

It’ll be interesting to see if he gets experience on the interior as a senior after playing 5-tech DE as a junior. He’s about the same build as Peter Woods was as a prospect (Woods was 6-3, 270) so a move inside makes sense. It would be ideal to get more experience there in high school, but either way this looks to be a strong contributor from a winner at Dutch Fork. This is a good win on the recruiting trail despite the 3-star billing.

Linebacker

Bryce Kish (6-4, 220lbs) – 247Sports Composite: 4-star / 0.9417

Logan Anderson and Brayden Reilly were the only linebacker recruits in the last two classes with Jeremiah Alexander joining through the transfer portal. As such, a big win was needed at linebacker this year. Stealing Bryce Kish away from Michigan, Michigan State, and Minnesota and bringing him from Howell, MI to Clemson, SC certainly counts as that major win.

Kish runs an 11.1 100-meter dash. That’s the same track speed as 4-star WR Trey Wembley, but he’s doing it with more size (45 lbs heavier). He played running back for most of his football career, but at 6-4 is projected as a linebacker. In both positions he brings a rare combination of size, strength, and physicality alongside speed, quickness, and instinct. With a full senior year ahead of playing linebacker, the newness of the position should fade. He is the highest rated defensive recruit in the class by the 247 Composite and that certainly checks out with my eye test.

Max Brown (6-1, 214) – 247Sports Composite: 3-star / 0.8844

Max Brown was a very early commit to the 2027 class choosing the Tigers over offers from Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. Like his brother, current Clemson LB Sammy Brown, his highlights show an appealing strength-speed combo that allows him to knife through traffic and tackle ball carriers in the backfield. His speed advantage and ability to cut through for TFLs will have to be toned back in college as running backs are faster, but he should be a plus against the run. His tape shows less coverage opportunities so that might be a developmental area as it has been for his older brother. He also suffered a knee injury that ended his junior season after five games. It wasn’t an ACL though and he is expected to make a full recovery and play his senior year. He won’t overlap with his brother unless Sammy stays for his senior year, but perhaps that’s a good enticement to keep Sammy around.

Cornerback

Bryant Robinson (6-2.5, 175) – 247Sports Composite: 3-star / 0.8833

Clemson’s Texas pipeline continues with Robinson from Frisco, TX (just north of Dallas). He chose Clemson over Arizona State, Arizona, and Texas Tech five days after a successful visit to TigerTown. At 6-3, 190lbs he is already built like an ACC cornerback. Mike Reed has made cornerback Clemson’s greatest positional strength over the long haul with five draft picks in the first two rounds in the last eight years.

Christian Chancellor Jr. (5-9, 162) – 247Sports Composite: 3-star / 0.8711

Along with Trey Wimbley on offense, Chancellor Jr. comes over from D.W. Daniel High School in Clemson with another connection to the Tigers — his dad was a cornerback on Tommy Bowden’s last and Dabo Swinney’s first team. Like his dad, he is only 5-9 and just 162lbs. With that size and a lack of another Power 5 offer, he may be limited to nickel opportunities later in his career, but player development can always change that. My initial comps go to Ryan Carter and Myles Oliver and perhaps his father as well.

Safety

Jarrell Chandler (6-3, 210) – 247Sports Composite: 4-star / 0.9144

Chandler, from Knoxville, TN, chose Clemson over both Vanderbilt and Tennessee. He plays both safety and wide receiver in high school and exhibits good ball skills while bringing a major element of size and physicality. He’s a hard tackler and could potentially end up at linebacker if he keeps growing. He ran a 11.37 in the 100-meter dash which isn’t elite for safety, but speed shouldn’t be a problem. This is a big win on the recruiting trail without a doubt.

Harrison Luke (6-0, 185) – 247Sports Composite: 3-star / 0.8800

Luke, the son of OL Coach Matt Luke, was impressive enough at North Oconee to earn offers from not just Clemson, but also Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn, Tennessee, and Purdue. My initial skepticism was largely wiped by watching his highlights which show a downhill safety who excels against the run. He’s a hard hitter to takes good angles, makes fundamentally sound tackles, and cuts runners down. His highlights don’t show a ton of coverage, but what they show is promising.

Kicker

Michael Brandin Gallaway (6-4, 190) – 247Sports Composite: N/A

With 105 scholarships and no walk-ons, my point of view on recruiting specialists has flipped. Rather than finding a walk-on from the soccer team, you now have the room put a few kickers on scholarship. They won’t cost too much in NIL, and it gives you more bites at the apple to get one that you can trust. Galloway is a highly-rated left-footed kicker but even more highly rated as a punter and blasts kickoffs too. It feels like Clemson has been on the short end of special teams field positions battles over the years and getting a punter like this to pair with new Special Teams Coach Rich Biassia is a win. Auburn and Tennessee gave offers but he chose the Clemson Tigers.

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