Clemson football pursuing another top 2023 recruit. Where they stand with Daevin Hobbs

In its ongoing search for a sixth 2023 commitment along the defensive line, Clemson football has ramped up communication with a top North Carolina pass rusher.

And things could get even more interesting if the Tigers miss out on Hunter Osborne, a four-star 2023 defensive lineman who has Clemson as one of four finalists entering his Monday night commitment but projects as a heavy Alabama lean.

As Osborne trends toward the Crimson Tide, four-star Jay M. Robinson (N.C.) High School defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs fits the bill as a future Clemson target.

Hobbs, the No. 138 recruit in the country, said he hadn’t heard much from the Tigers since participating in a June 1 Dabo Swinney Camp. That changed two weeks ago.

As first detailed by TigerIllustrated, Clemson defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall phoned Hobbs for a July 20 check-in as his then-commitment date loomed.

“We pretty much just had a catch-up call,” Hobbs told The State on Thursday. “What I was doing through the summer, how my recruiting was going. Things like that.”

Hobbs, 18, didn’t leave that call with a Clemson scholarship offer, but he did make a notable recruiting move a few hours later on Twitter: postponing his previously scheduled commitment date of Aug. 1.

“Big decisions take time,” Hobbs wrote.

Clemson’s communication was far from his only motivation for that delay. For months, in-state program UNC was the heavy favorite to land Hobbs, who plays his high school ball 30 minutes outside of Charlotte in Concord.

But a late summer surge increased his national appeal. Hobbs only had two Power Five offers (UNC and Virginia Tech) entering March.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound lineman now has over a dozen while rising from the country’s No. 217 composite recruit to his current No. 138 spot.

Most recently, 2021 College Football Playoff qualifiers Alabama and Michigan, as well as Tennessee, offered Hobbs scholarships in June.

On July 16, Hobbs announced a top six list of Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee and UNC and set a commitment date of Aug. 1.

He changed course four days later, though, since he’s only taken official visits to Auburn (June 17-19) and UNC (June 24-26).

“I was originally trying to get everything wrapped in the summertime so I’d have nothing to worry about during the season,” Hobbs said, “but as I was getting closer to it, I started thinking about more options. It just made more sense for me to wait a little bit more.”

This fall, Hobbs can take three more official visits, which are paid for in full by schools, to further inform his college decision.

Two of those openings are essentially filled. Though he’s still working to confirm dates, Hobbs said he’ll officially visit Alabama and Tennessee this fall. That leaves one official visit, which will loom large for other contenders in Hobbs’ recruitment. If Clemson offered him, would he consider using that official visit on the Tigers?

“Yeah, I’d consider it,” he said.

Naturally, if Clemson didn’t offer a scholarship, “that would probably make them less of a candidate” for Hobbs’ final official visit, he said.

Another potential visit candidate: reigning national champion Georgia, which hosted Hobbs for a camp Friday and extended a scholarship offer later that afternoon.

Hobbs is listed as a defensive lineman on 247Sports but said he’s also comfortable as an edge rusher. He played both positions last season while recording 39 total tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hurries and eight sacks in 10 games.

Hobbs’ athleticism also translates on offense, where he’s a productive tight end/H-back and one of Robinson’s top weapons. And on the basketball court, where he averaged 14.7 points as a junior and helped his team win North Carolina’s 2A state championship in March.

The Tigers already have four 2023 defensive line commitments, including top 50 recruits Peter Woods and Vic Burley, so they’re recruiting Hobbs as an edge rusher.

Four-star Washington, D.C., recruit David Ojiegbe is Clemson’s sole 2023 edge rusher commitment to date, though its defensive line commits offer positional versatility.

As for what stands out about Clemson for Hobbs?

“They’re a top team in the country,” he said, adding that “I really like the way the coaches coach down there. I know most schools are on the same page, but when I went to Clemson it felt like all the coaches were (working) as one, if that makes sense.”

Clemson’s relative proximity to his Concord home (three hours) is also a plus, but distance isn’t a deciding factor in Hobbs’ recruitment, he said. Neither is attending the same school as his younger sister, Ella, a top 50 girls’ basketball recruit in the class of 2024 with offers from top schools including South Carolina.

“But that would be cool,” he said with a laugh.

Since delaying his commitment, Hobbs hasn’t considered a new list of finalists (his top six still holds for now) or a new decision date. With new opportunities galore, the fast-rising defender is mostly in the information-gathering process.

“Right now, I’m really just going with the flow,” Hobbs said. “I’m really just going day by day to see what feels right.”