Amidst the busy off-season, high school recruits are nearing their commitment dates. Dabo Swinney and Clemson football are closely watching their targets, leaving no stone unturned. After building a solid 2025 class, the Tigers shifted their focus to the 2026 cycle, leading it to an elite No. 1 spot in the ACC. But Swinney isn’t done. He continues to work on getting more of the nation’s best players to visit Clemson and ultimately commit. However, it seems a significant setback awaits his efforts.
Back in March, Clemson extended their offer to running back Jae Lamar from Moultrie, Georgia. Lamar has received over 30 offers and is heavily targeted by programs like Georgia, Florida State, Miami, and Auburn. Clemson once seemed to be in a good position to land Lamar. But that’s no longer the case.
Florida State is now surpassing the competition. The 4-star RB attended a few games at Doak Campbell Stadium during the season, but he never felt as deeply connected as he did after his visit to the program last week.
Following his June 6-8 visit to FSU, which hosted many blue-chip prospects, Lamar came away impressed. “I mean, the coaches are what’s going to keep me, and that’s what’s going to make me commit to Florida State,” Lamar revealed during his interview with the Florida State Sports-Warchant Press Room. “It’s a great facility. Everyone in the program is great.” He explained that the coaches are the ultimate X-factor in his interest in FSU.
Florida State was one of the first programs to offer Lamar an early scholarship when the season began in late August. Running backs coach David Johnson was highly impressed by Lamar’s sophomore film and quickly offered him. Since then, Lamar has made multiple trips to Tallahassee to experience the game-day atmosphere. Throughout these visits, he has been consistently impressed by HC Mike Norvell, whose contagious positive energy keeps all the athletes fired up for a dogfight.
@Jaelamar34 pic.twitter.com/le6tiHb8qh
— Carsyn Baker ‘ALL Day’ (@carsyn_baker) June 6, 2025
“I mean, you know, obviously I’ve been down here a few times, maybe like four or five times, and every single time,” the Georgia native added, “I come down here coaching Mike [Norvell]. I mean, he got the same, he got the same energy, I mean, the players they say he likes that throughout, every day, I mean, why not be a part of something like that!” Looks like the competition is fierce for Swinney, and there’s no room for error.
Jae Lamar keeps six schools on his favorite list
Florida State currently holds the No. 4 recruiting spot in the ACC, while Clemson leads the conference. Though Lamar’s recruitment seemed like an ACC battle, an SEC powerhouse now appears to be in the mix, and unexpected commitments or flips could happen as June ends.
The Georgia Bulldogs have been the frontrunners for four-star running back recruit Jae Lamar, who narrowed his list of top schools to six. Along with Georgia, the other schools are Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Clemson, and Ohio State, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.
The Bulldogs offered him on Oct. 7, 2024, and 247Sports has already predicted him as a future commit to Georgia. This isn’t a fluke for Kirby Smart. Lamar, a top-tier athlete with incredible presence, vision, and insane speed, looks like an ideal successor to all the high-end backs to come out of the Peach State. Also, keeping elite in-state talent home has been a skill nobody has mastered as well as Smart.
New running backs coach Josh Crawford also followed suit, placing Lamar on UGA’s board as a high-priority target. Smart and Crawford will have a lot of confidence in Lamar, as he seems to have all the tools of the developing NFL running backs trained under the school, such as Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, D’Andre Swift, and James Cook. It remains to be seen if Florida State and Clemson can beat the top dogs to win his commitment.
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