Four-Star Safety Leaves Clemson Out of Final Five

The Clemson Tigers have officially lucked out on their third safety target of the recruiting cycle, with a top 15 player at the position trimming his list recently.

On Tuesday afternoon, Hough (N.C.) defensive back Davion Jones revealed his top five schools — Indiana, Georgia, LSU, Auburn and South Carolina — notably leaving Clemson off the list, as first reported by On3's Hayes Fawcett. He has official visits scheduled with all five finalists.

Jones is rated a four-star prospect and ranks as the No. 153 overall player, the No. 10 player at his position and the No. 7 player in the state of North Carolina, according to his Rivals Industry Ranking.

Clemson and Jones had been in contact for over a year, with him making the first trip to campus for an unofficial visit in March 2025. Consequently, he received an offer from the program on June 7 following an impressive performance at the Dabo Swinney Football Camp.

Jones became the third safety in his class to receive an offer from the Tigers, joining now-Kentucky commit Marquis Bryant and now-Indiana commit Garyon Hobbs.

He then returned for Clemson's 2025 season-opener against LSU. While the Tigers finished the year off with a 7-6 record — their worst since 2010 — Jones still included the program in his top eight suitors and came back for an unofficial visit to campus in early March for the program's annual Elite Retreat. 

Initially, Jones considered making a final trip back around for an official visit, but he ultimately decided to schedule the Bulldogs instead.

While it certainly hurts the Tigers to miss out on a blue-chip, versatile safety who's accounted for 120 tackles, 19 pass deflections and 11 interceptions over the past three years, the program now must shift its focus to the remaining targets on the board.

The top remaining targets for Clemson are two of the best safety prospects in the country, Ta'Shawn Poole — who has the Tigers in his top six — and Chance Gilbert, who has the program in his top four. Both talents will be on campus for an official visit on May 29-31. 

The two other targets on the board are four-star Jarrell Chandler and three-star Seth Williams.

Chandler included Clemson in his top four on Monday and is set to commit on May 18; however, it's likely he chooses his home-state school, Tennessee. Williams, on the other hand, is a former commit and still values the program, as he placed the Tigers in his top six post-decommitment. He has an official visit lined up for May 29-31; his only other confirmed officials are Florida, which is in contention for him, and Florida State, which wasn't included in his top six list.

As it stands, the Tigers have one commit at the safety position, that being three-star Harrison Luke, who made his decision in early September 2025 and is set to be back on campus for his official visit alongside Williams, Poole and Gilbert.

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