4-star recruit, former Penn State pledge gets Clemson offer he ‘always wanted’

Better late than never.

That’s holding true in the case of Clemson football and four-star defensive lineman Tomarrion Parker, who decommitted from Penn State earlier this month.

Parker emerged as an early 2023 recruiting target for Clemson and defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall last year, but mutual interest never amounted to a scholarship offer.

The Central (Ala.) High School defender and No. 100 national recruit naturally moved forward with his recruitment and verbally committed June 21 to Penn State over four other finalists.

When Parker decommitted from the Nittany Lions on Aug. 9, though, an old suitor re-emerged. Clemson offered Parker the scholarship he’d been waiting for two days after he re-opened his recruitment. It’s now one of his top schools entering the fall.

Parker will unofficially visit Clemson for its Sept. 10 home opener against Furman, per 247Sports, and is also finalizing an official visit for later in the fall.

“(I’d) always wanted to say that Clemson offered,” Parker, the No. 12 defensive lineman in the 2023 class, told The Clemson Insider.

The Tigers have already excelled at defensive line recruiting this cycle. Between defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall and defensive line coach Nick Eason, Clemson has picked up verbal commitments from five 2023 recruits who rank as four-star or five-star prospects.

Building depth

The additions of five-star tackle Peter Woods, four-star tackle Vic Burley, four-star tackle Stephiylan Green, four-star edge David Ojiegbe and four-star tackle AJ Hoffler still might not be enough for a defense that could face serious attrition to the NFL after this season.

A chance for immediate snaps at defensive end — where Myles Murphy, Xavier Thomas, KJ Henry and Justin Mascoll could all exhaust their eligibility and/or leave for the NFL Draft — is “a great opportunity,” Parker said. His lead recruiter, Hall, pitched as much.

Parker (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) has a prior relationship with Hall from last summer and is also familiar with Eason, who recruited Parker in his previous job as Auburn defensive line coach. He also plays at a high school with a bit of a Tigers pipeline.

Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama has produced three Clemson players since 2018: four-star wide receiver Justyn Ross, four-star wide receiver EJ Williams and three-star safety Ray Thornton III (who’s since transferred to South Florida). A fourth, safety Caleb Nix, is a walk-on on the 2022 roster.

On a statewide level, Parker said he’s already familiar with five-star 2023 quarterback Christopher Vizzina and five-star 2023 defensive tackle Woods, who are Clemson’s top-rated recruits from the state of Alabama since 2000.

All of those connections made Clemson an intriguing option for Parker, who told TigerNet he’d also corrected a minor academic transcript “mix-up” that had initially made Clemson hesitant to offer. He’s now on track to graduate early with all required classes, he said.

Fall schedule

Parker’s decommitment came at a good time for Clemson. Amid recruiting success, the Tigers missed on four-star defensive linemen Keldric Faulk (Florida State) and Hunter Osborne (Alabama) and haven’t offered a third, Daevin Hobbs, after some initial interest.

Parker is now one of Clemson’s most prominent targets to round out a 20-man recruiting class that ranks No. 8 in the country and No. 1 in the ACC, per the 247Sports Composite.

Parker took one of his five allotted official visits to Penn State over the summer and told TCI his other four visits will be to Clemson, Georgia, Florida (Oct. 14) and Tennessee. He’ll wait until after all of those trips to finalize any commitment plans.

Parker had eight solo tackles, six tackles for loss and five sacks in his 2022 season opener Friday for Central. As a junior, he recorded 75 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and two defensive touchdowns in 14 games.