Clemson lands commitment from top-100 recruit

Clemson has landed a commitment from one of the top tight ends in the country for the class of 2024.

Illinois native Christian Bentancur has committed to Clemson, he announced Friday afternoon.

Bentancur chose the Tigers over Ohio State and Oregon, who also made his final three. He is the third commit for Clemson in the class of 2024, joining cornerback Tavoy Feagin and kicker Nolan Hauser.

Bentancur is ranked as the No. 96 overall player in the country and the No. 4 tight end in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus rankings.

Bentancur spoke with On3’s Chad Simmons earlier this month about why he chose to go ahead and commit now. He was originally planning to take official visits in the spring and summer.

“I got that feeling and I knew I didn’t need to wait that long. The gut feeling I had was different,” Bentancur said. “That, combined with the love this school has been showing and the opportunities I have at this school made it stand out. That is what it came down to for me.”

Bentancur also spoke with Simmons about what in particular he likes about Clemson and Dabo Swinney’s program.

“The family atmosphere and the coaches are two things that really make Clemson stand out. I was there for the Louisville game this season and it was great,” he said. “They offered me at camp last summer. It was a great feeling and earning that offer from the Clemson coaches meant a lot. They showed a lot of love and Clemson has a lot of great people.”

Bentancur will be playing for a new offensive coordinator now as former Tigers OC Brandon Streeter was fired on Thursday.

Streeter is being replaced by TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who was named the Broyles Award winner as the top offensive coordinator in college football for the 2022 season.

Riley arrived in the Upstate Thursday night. His contract will be approved by the Board of Trustees later Friday.

Swinney explained his decision to fire Streeter in a statement released Thursday evening.

“I am incredibly appreciative of Brandon for all he accomplished at Clemson in his 15 years as a player, graduate assistant, position coach and offensive coordinator. I am thankful for Brandon and love him and his family. He has always represented Clemson University with great pride, and I know he will continue to do great things,” Swinney said.

“As the leader of this program, I am accountable for our staff and accountable for our results, and though we took a step forward offensively in 2022, after evaluating our offense in-depth, I felt it was in the best interest of our program to seek new leadership at that position. These decisions are never easy, but it is my job to evaluate and assess every part of our program every year, and this was just the right time to make a change.”