The Clemson Tigers recently missed out on one of their top quarterback prospects for the class of 2026, as the school's highly-touted prospect, Brady Hart, opted to attend the University of Michigan Wolverines.
While losing him was a tough reality to swallow, Clemson still has another intriguing target at the quarterback position in the 2026 freshman recruiting class.
The target is none other than Tate Reynolds.
Reynolds, a three-star quarterback from Queen Creek, Arizona, impressed the Tigers and has the ability and potential to be a future star if developed correctly.
Thankfully, Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff are focused on development.
As of now, things seem to be going well for the Tigers when it comes to Reynolds, with 247 Sports listing Clemson as a “keen” team in terms of interest from Reynolds, and no other teams listed as such on his offer list.
Reynolds said so in a recent interview, when he boldly declared that Clemson was his “top choice.”
Reynolds also spoke about his visit with the Tigers.
“It was amazing. I think they have great facilities and equipment and stuff, but it's just the people there. There's just so much love. They're family. They're people who want to be together and there's so much energy. It's just great to be around all those people. And the environment was just amazing.”
He's an intriguing target, but Reynolds is mindful he has a lot of work to do — he's not the most polished quarterback prospect ever — but he's ready to put in the work.
“They liked the way I played and especially the kind of person I am. They really liked that I'm just an athlete. I'm not very polished. I don't go to a quarterback coach a lot like a lot of other guys, so they liked all of that.”
Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff could help improve Reynolds' game and turn him into the type of quarterback who can thrive in their system.
Looking to the future, the Tigers will need a new quarterback, with Cade Klubnick entering his third season this season and playing just one more year beyond 2024.
Maybe Reynolds can become the next big thing at his position at Clemson if he works hard, and he certainly seems on track to commit and play college football for the Tigers.
