The battle for Robert Nkemdiche’s signature on National Signing Day took a foreseeable turn Wednesday night as the No. 1 recruit in the country reportedly de-committed from Clemson.
Nkemdiche told AJC.com recruiting reporter Michael Carvell in a text that he remains committed to Clemson, but is “undecided”… Which sounds a whole lot like he’s not committed.
Nkemdiche’s recruitment has garnered headlines as much for the sideshow as for the prodigious talents of the 6-5, 260 defensive end from Loganville, Ga. Nkemdiche’s commitment to Dabo Swinney in June caught recruitniks off-guard. Swinney had already snagged pledges from Nkemdiche’s teammates at Grayson High School, David Kamara and Wayne Gallam, prompting talk of a package deal for his boys.
Nkemdiche then raised a ruckus with public comments hinting suggesting that his commitment to the Tigers really needed to be secured with a scholarship offer to another Grayson teammate, Ryan Carter. Despite protestations to the contrary, it came off like a classic leverage play by a youngster who has this whole recruiting circus down pat.
The news that Nkemdiche is jilting Clemson comes less than a week after his mother gave a forthright interview indicating that she had never even spoken to Swinney and his staff.
So, which lucky coach will soon get the pleasure of trying to appease the studly defensive end until he signs his letter of intent? It sounds as though Hugh Freeze may have blindsided Nkemdiche’s other suitors. It presumably helps that Nkemdiche’s brother Denzel is a Rebel already.
As for Clemson, let’s see if Swinney decides to return the packages that came with Nkemdiche’s one-time commitment.
