2026 defensive end JR Hardrick commits to Clemson football, Dabo Swinney
CLEMSON — Clemson football and coach Dabo Swinney added their second defensive lineman in the 2026 recruiting class with the commitment of three-star JR Hardrick.
The 6-foot-6, 231-pounder from South Pittsburg High in Tennessee is rated the No. 26 player in the state by the 247Sports Composite rankings. Hardrick chose Clemson over Virginia, Mississippi State and Louisville. He announced his commitment on X on June 5.
Advertisement
Hardrick helped South Pittsburgh to a 12-4 record last season. He joins three-star Kameron Cody as Clemson's two defensive lineman commitments. Hardrick is also the second player to commit to Clemson within the past two days, joining four-star offensive lineman Leo Delaney.
Swinney's 2026 class is ranked No. 3 nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and it has 12 four-star recruits and five three-stars commits. It is a complete change from last year's cycle that finished with 15 signees and ranked 26th nationally, which was Swinney's lowest-rated cycle since 2010 and his smallest class since 2017.
Hardrick is the first recruit from Tennessee in the 2026 class to commit to the Tigers. He is also the fifth defensive player to commit to Clemson.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: JR Hardrick commits to Dabo Swinney in 2026 class
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Austin Smotherman leads BMW Charity Pro-Am through two rounds, Trent Phillips tied for 8th
Austin Smotherman shot a second round 62 that included 10 birdies at Thornblade on Friday and at -16-overall the SMU alum will take a 2-shot lead into the weekend at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. Boiling Springs High School alum, Trent Phillips shot a 2nd round 66 Friday afternoon at Carolina Country Club and is tied for 8th at -11 overall. Four former Clemson golfers make the cut, led by Bryson Nimmer who's tied for 12th at 10-under par. The final two rounds will take place at Thornblade Club. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
Texas A&M basketball re-offers 2027 5-star small forward
Texas A&M basketball re-offers 2027 5-star small forward With Texas A&M's basketball program under new management, head coach Bucky McMillan is off and running this offseason after adding 13 players to the 2025 roster, including highly coveted Spanish guard Rubén Domínguez, who announced his commitment on Friday afternoon. While the future is bright, the present is even brighter amid the talent McMillan will work with this fall. On the recruiting trail, McMillan has yet to land a 2026 prospect, but has made significant progress over the past month. In the 2027 cycle, Texas A&M has officially re-offered five-star small forward Ryan Hampton, whose previous praise of former head coach Buzz Williams' coaching staff was more based on all-time scoring guard Wade Taylor IV, while the Aggies offered his brother, former NBA guard RJ Hampton. "I've been around that program a lot since they recruited my brother. They have a player presently on their team, Wade Taylor, he is a great player. And he is the guy they need to go out and win them a game.' With the new and exciting Texas A&M staff led by McMillan, Hampton is back in the fold and will continue to consider the Aggies moving forward. With the talent the program has acquired this offseason, Hampton has a baseline to work off of regarding McMillan's ability to recruit. During his 2024-2025 season with Dynamic Prep, Hampton averaged 7.8 points per game and shot above 60% from the field. According to 247Sports Composite, Hampton is currently positioned as the 2nd-ranked prospect in the class, 2nd-ranked small forward, and the No. 1-ranked prospect in Texas. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
USA Today
7 hours ago
- USA Today
'Drunk frat guys?' West Virginia coach rips Clemson for 'bogus' visitors' bullpen setup
'Drunk frat guys?' West Virginia coach rips Clemson for 'bogus' visitors' bullpen setup West Virginia Mountaineers coach Steve Sabins isn't a fan of Clemson baseball's Doug Kingsmore Stadium -- or at least not the visitors' bullpen area of the stadium. Sabins, whose team defeated the Tigers 9-6 at the Clemson Regional of the NCAA Tournament last Saturday before clinching the regional the following day against Kentucky, spoke about the environment at Doug Kingsmore on Friday ahead of West Virginia's best-of-three Super Regional showdown with the LSU Tigers at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. What does Sabins think of the setup? Plenty, it seems. Among the adjectives the first-year Mountaineers coach said of the designated area for opposing pitchers to warm up at Clemson's stadium, Sabins called it "bogus" and "kind of a minor league thing." When asked by a reporter about any "issues" he had with the setup, Sabins sounded off: "I like that you called them 'issues.' I agree with 'issues.' I think they need to fix that deal... I think it's 8,000 fans at Clemson. They're excited. It's an awesome atmosphere. It's a little bit more like a minor league atmosphere I think than [LSU]. When I've watched ballgames here, they don't pump as much music into the stadium. The crowd here is raucous and really into the game, but it's more of a traditional college baseball setting." There weren't 8,000 fans on hand for Clemson vs. West Virginia. The State's Chapel Fowler noted that 6,475 people attended the game. And according to Clemson, the Doug Kingsmore Stadium attendance record is 6,891 when the Tigers defeated South Carolina, 5-3, on February 28. Sabins called Clemson's bullpen setup for opposing teams "bogus": "At Clemson, it's kind of that minor league thing where it's offensive-oriented. Every time that there's a ball or a walk or a hit, the music gets louder, and so it's a little bit like an artificial heart rate increase I think for pitchers and for defenders. The bullpen thing is bogus at Clemson." Sabins went on to say that the visitors' bullpen set up at Clemson could allow "drunk frat guys" to interfere with opposing relievers. "You can get so close and it's a net where as a pitcher is warming up, someone could actually grab a pitcher's arm," Sabins said. "And so I'm all for environment. It's just that as somebody was warming up, somebody could actually reach out and grab an arm." Did any Clemson fan actually grab a West Virginia player's arm? "I don't want to say that," Sabins said. "I don't know that for certain. It's close enough to be able to do that, so I think as a pitcher is warming up, psychologically, if you feel like you're in danger, you may adjust your mechanics or you may feel like it's too tight. So there probably needs to be a rule in place just to control that a little bit." Here's a clip of Sabins' comments, courtesy of and posted by The State's Chapel Fowler. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
