Clemson enters picture as LSU trends for 4-star OL

The LSU football staff has 22 commitments in for the 2023 class, which includes a trio of offensive line commitments in Louisiana’s Zalance Heard and Tyree Adams and Georgia’s Paul Mubenga.

LSU offensive line coach Brad Davis hasn’t slowed down with his push to add more names to the incoming class, and one of the prospect’s sitting atop the wish list is Conyers (Ga.) Eagle’s Landing Christian four-star interior offensive lineman DJ Chester.

Chester has already made an official visit to LSU, which helped the Tigers begin to trend with the four-star prospect. Chester then took an unofficial visit to LSU for the team’s home opener against Southern in Week 2.

Clemson enters the fold with a scholarship offer

On Wednesday night, Chester shared the news that he had been offered a verbal scholarship by Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney.

Clemson became offer No. 26 for Chester, who has already made a number of trips to colleges this season.

This past weekend, Chester made an unofficial visit to Florida State, which followed up the trip to LSU earlier in the month. Chester has already made official visits to Auburn and LSU in June, and has two more scheduled to Michigan and Ole Miss on Oct. 28 and Sept. 30, respectively. Chester said the final official visit would go to Florida State.

“I have my own timeline,” Chester told On3’s Jeremy Johnson. “I’m not like everyone else and they’re not like me. I just go by what God wants me to do. I want to go to go by the plan that’s in my head. I’m going to be honest, I don’t even know the plan. I’m just trying to go win state right now.”

LSU still trending for the Georgia 4-star prospect

While Clemson’s scholarship offer will be worth monitoring, Chester was already set to take in trips to other programs before coming to a college decision.

Chester said he won’t be public with his choice until January when he announces at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

That said, the Tigers are considered by the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine as the team to beat.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, LSU has a commanding lead for his commitment at 90.9%. Auburn has the next-best odds at 2.8%. Both predictions on the RPM are in for the Tigers.

The On3 RPM was released to the public in December. The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. 

It factors in machine learning, social sentiment, visits and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.

A closer look at Chester’s recruiting rankings

Chester is the No. 162 overall prospect and No. 11 interior offensive lineman in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 13 player in Georgia.

On3 rates Chester higher than other recruiting services, according to the Industry Comparison. Per the 2023 On300, he is the No. 130 overall prospect in the country.

Here’s the On3 Scouting Report:

“Big-bodied mauler who makes his presence known in the run game by blowing defenders off the ball and finishing them with tenacity. Raw power through his hips and plays with tremendous leverage. Threw an impressive 52-foot-9 in the shot put and 163-foot-3 in the discus during his junior track and field season. Does not possess ideal arm length in order to thrive at tackle in the NFL. Could be a swing tackle in college, but ideal fit is along the interior. One of the youngest offensive linemen in the 2023 recruiting cycle.”