The Clemson Tigers have their 13th commitment of the 2025 recruiting class, as Friday Wesley Chapel (Fla.) offensive lineman Gavin Blanchard backed off his UCF commitment to declare for the Tigers.
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Blanchard, 6-3, 300, owns a high three-star billing from Rivals.com and is rated 10th nationally among center prospects by the network. He becomes the Tigers' fourth offensive line commit for this cycle.
Tigerillustrated.com introduced Blanchard to subscribers as a significant name to know early in the cycle.
Blanchard has relatives in Greenville, S.C., and grew up a Clemson fan. But he also had certain benchmarks to reach, and when the Tigers didn’t pull the trigger, he advanced in committing to UCF.
After missing on Nelson McGuire last month, we reiterated that the Tigers continued exploring numerous options for a fourth line acquisition.
Clemson has been involved with Blanchard for well over a year. The Wiregrass standout is a former Dabo Swinney camper and also was an invited guest at Clemson's Elite Retreat.
Blanchard attended the Rivals Camp Series event in Miami (Fla.) in April, as well as the network's five-star event in Jacksonville, Fla. in June.
Said Rivals.com national analyst Sam Spiegelman on Blanchard at the event: "Blanchard worked out at both center and guard. He was highly competitive and excelled at initially slowing down powerful pass-rushers working from the inside."
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Blanchard, who initially committed to the Knights while in Orlando on an official visit in June, held several Power 4 offers, notably Pittsburgh and Louisville. Purdue and Indiana also offered.
Tigerillustrated.com will have much more on Blanchard's recruitment and decision in our Monday Insider.
CLEMSON'S 2025 VERBAL COMMITMENTS
1. (RB) Gideon Davidson (5-11, 185) Lynchburg, Va.
2. (OL) Easton Ware (6-5, 285) Lynchburg, Va.
3. (TE) Logan Brooking (6-4, 235) Savannah, Ga.
4. (WR) JuJu Preston (6-0, 175) Woodbridge, Va.
5. (DL) Amare Adams (6-4, 285) Florence, S.C.
6. (ATH) Marquise Henderson (5-10, 170) Honea Path, S.C.
7. (DL) Ari Watford (6-5, 235) Norfolk, Va.
8. (OL) Braydon Jacobs (6-7, 320) Buford, Ga.
9. (DB) Tae Harris (6-0, 200) Cedertown, Ga.
10. (OL) Rowan Byrne (6-6, 305) New Rochelle, N.Y.
11. (LB) Logan Anderson (6-2, 223) Fyffe, Ala.
12. (DL) Makhi Williams-Lee (6-2, 280) Atlanta, Ga.
13. (OL) Gavin Blanchard (6-3, 300) Wesley Chapel, Fla.
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