Clemson football trending with top 2023 offensive line recruit, experts say

Chapel Fowler
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

After a rush of defensive commitments, Clemson football is now closing in on one of the country’s top-ranked 2023 offensive linemen, according to recent predictions.

Over the last week, the Tigers picked up two 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions to ultimately land the commitment of Harris Sewell, who ranks as the nation’s No. 2 interior offensive lineman, No. 13 recruit in Texas and No. 72 overall recruit nationally.

Sewell, listed at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, has been focusing on a top five of Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M since April; more recently, he’s zeroed in on Clemson and Texas A&M, having officially visited both schools in early June.

The Tigers, current holders of the country’s No. 3 overall 2023 recruiting class, have remained a top contender for Sewell despite a coaching change at his position.

Longtime offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell, who originally recruited Sewell, moved to an off-field role last December, and head coach Dabo Swinney hired former Tiger letterman and NFLer Thomas Austin as Caldwell’s replacement.

Austin has already made a recruiting impact with one Texas lineman: He was a key factor in four-star offensive tackle Ian Reed’s June 7 commitment to the Tigers.

Now he’s doing the same for Sewell, one of about 30 top players on site for Clemson’s June 3-5 official visit weekend that marked a notable change in Swinney policy.

During his junior year at Odessa’s Permian High School, Sewell played seven games at guard and four games at center, recorded 61 pancake blocks and 21 knockdowns and allowed no sacks or quarterback pressures while earning his second straight first-team all-district honor. He has 23 Division I offers, per 247Sports.

Sewell has yet to schedule a public commitment date.

Clemson is up to 14 committed recruits — 12 who rank as four-stars or five-stars — in the class of 2023 after four-star Georgia defensive linemen AJ Hoffler and Stephiylan Green committed on consecutive days this past week.

The Tigers’ 2023 class only trails Notre Dame (No. 1) and Ohio State (No. 2) in the 247Sports team composite rankings. The next-closest ACC team is No. 11 Louisville.