1. One season closes, another kicks into high gear.
It's closing time on the recruiting trail.
Our custom is to kick off the edition by closing the book on Clemson's latest commitment.
Whether this section falls under that category will depend on how early you get up and read it.
Phenix City (Ala.) Central four-star defensive end Tomarrion "T.J." Parker announces his destination this morning.
Parker (6-4, 252), ranked No. 190 nationally by Rivals.com, picks from finalists Clemson, Tennessee, Penn State and Texas A&M.
The Tigerillustrated.com projection to Clemson attended Saturday's victory against Miami on an unofficial visit.
As you know, we put the writing on the wall that the Tigers had finished this one off with his official visit for the Oct. 22 Syracuse game. And yet that simply put to rest any question that Tennessee had gathered momentum when Parker attended its dramatic home victory against Alabama the week before on an unofficial visit.
Our intel identified the Vols as Clemson's chief remaining competition in September, a couple of weeks after the Tigers offered Parker immediately upon his Penn State decommitment.
Parker was born in Knoxville, and his mother's family still lives there. So Tennessee carried appeal.
But by virtue of its program culture and profile, Clemson was the offer Parker coveted early in the process. The timing of holding off and making their move after his decommitment played in the Tigers' favor, and ends coach Lemanski Hall hammered the immediate need at the position.
Clemson's two defensive end commitments -- College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy four-star AJ Hoffler and Washington (D.C.) St. John's College four-star David Ojiegbe -- cannot enroll until the summer.
So that makes Parker an even bigger deal as he is a midyear enrollee and would be the one newcomer who gets a head start on advancing his development via spring ball in an effort to be ready to contribute off the bat.
Parker brought a couple of teammates to Saturday's game and spent his time beforehand hanging out with the Clemson commitment in attendance, Central (S.C.) Daniel athlete Misun "Tink" Kelley.
Only a matter of time before he formally joins the list.
2. Meanwhile, as the Tigers put the finishing touches on this haul, they finally have christened their 2024 class.
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Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day four-star corner Tavoy Feagin announced his commitment to Clemson on Sunday afternoon.
Feagin (6-0, 175), ranked No. 97 in the country, selected the Tigers over Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Miami and Florida.
His father, Michael, played defensive back at Alabama from 1995-99.
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Ironically, that proved more to Clemson's advantage than that of the Tide.
Michael was in Tuscaloosa when Dabo Swinney was a Bama assistant coach. Clemson support staffer Andrew Zow was Michael's quarterback, and he likewise crossed paths with Mickey Conn, Woody McCorvey, Danny Pearman and strength coach Paul Hogan.
School allegiance matters. Relationships, for those in the game, usually matter more.
Clemson's NFL pedigree with corners, naturally, didn't hurt either.
By design, Feagin collected the Tigers' first corner offer for the cycle upon attending the opening day of the Swinney Camp in June.
Florida exited the summer as Clemson's chief threat but fell out of the equation after he visited Gainesville in September, then took in Clemson's triumph over N.C. State in early October.
Feagin set his decision date and wouldn't make another recruiting trip until taking in Florida State's game against Louisiana on Saturday, a day before his announcement.
Sometimes prospects try too hard to throw the outside world off the scent.
3. That FSU trip didn't really worry Clemson. But another raised an eyebrow.
Riverview (Fla.) Sumner four-star safety commitment Kylen Webb took in the 'Noles win with his father and brother.
Webb (6-1, 185) picked the Tigers over FSU after taking his official visit to Clemson in early June. The 'Noles never got their scheduled official later that month.
As we first informed subscribers Saturday evening, FSU invited Webb's brother, Keon -- a 6-4, 285-pound junior defensive tackle who landed a Florida Atlantic offer in the spring.
We cannot vouch for whether the Seminoles have genuine interest in Keon.
However, we do think it's reasonable to suggest FSU had additional motive in inviting him, and that the 'Noles continue to work in an effort to pry Kylen away.
Webb continues to tell Clemson all the right things, per our sources.
One month left till the Dec. 21-23 early signing period.
We'll find out rather soon whether he's to be believed.
