Clemson has broken through with a big offensive line acquisition for this recruiting class.
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Franklin (Tenn.) Page four-star Ronan O'Connell has announced his commitment to the Tigers. O'Connell had been a projection to Clemson by Tigerillustrated.com.
ALSO SEE: Monday Insider | Nation's No. 1 junior recruit weighs in on Clemson | SUMMER UPDATE: Will Putnam
O'Connell (6-4, 285) picked Clemson over finalists Tennessee and Wisconsin.
He also had offers from Florida State, Auburn, Miami, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Missouri and more.
But Tennessee obviously was the important one, and why this amounted to a rather impressive victory for offensive line coach Thomas Austin.
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O'Connell visited the Vols a half-dozen times since they offered more than a year ago, and the in-state flagship was widely considered the heavy favorite. Tennessee beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl also cast a predictable shadow on perception.
But the Tigers got involved early in the calendar year and pulled the trigger on an offer upon finally attracting O'Connell to visit in early April.
Tennessee got O'Connell back on campus again in late May before Clemson had its swing with the early June official visit.
The Vols drew the final at-bat little more than a week ago, but that wasn't enough to deter O'Connell from pulling the public surprise in pledging to Clemson.
We informed subscribers that the Tigers consider O'Connell cut from the same cloth as current starters Will Putnam and Walker Parks, and O'Connell would advance the comparison by joining those two in eschewing the favored in-state school for Clemson's culture and program prestige.
He is expected to be an interior lineman for Clemson, beginning his career at guard.
As importantly, O'Connell finally gives the Tigers an offensive line commitment for this class -- improving their odds of getting the ball rolling for more in the coming days.
O'Connell is Clemson's 14th verbal commitment of the 2024 class. 12 of the Tigers' 14 pledges are ranked four stars by Rivals.com.
Tigerillustrated.com will release much more on O'Connell, including behind-the-scenes recruitment intel, in our next Monday Insider.
CLEMSON's 2024 COMMITMENTS
1. (DB) Tavoy Feagin - Tampa, Fla.
2. (K) Nolan Hauser - Cornleius, N.C.
3. (TE) Christian Bentancur - Woodstock, Ill.
4. (DL) Champ Thompson - Norcross, Ga.
5. (DB) Noah Dixon - LaGrange, Ga.
6. (RB) David Eziomume - Kennesaw, Ga.
7. (LB) Drew Woodaz - Tampa, Fla.
8. (DL) Hevin Brown-Shuler - Atlanta, Ga.
9. (LB) Sammy Brown - Jefferson, Ga.
10. (WR) T.J. Moore - Tampa, Fla.
11. (WR) Bryant Wesco - Midlothian, TX
12. (DE) Darien Mayo - Olney, Md.
13. (DB) Ricardo Jones - Warner Robins, Ga.
14. (OL) Ronan O'Connell - Franklin, Tenn.
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