Clemson grabs its future QB two years early

Recruiting for high school sophomores always feels a little absurd, but Clemson isn't waiting around. Trace Hawkins, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound quarterback out of Calhoun, Georgia, announced he's committing to the Tigers, picking Dabo Swinney's program over a group that reportedly included LSU, Vanderbilt, Duke and Virginia Tech.

Hayes Fawcett

@Hayesfawcett3

BREAKING: Class of 2028 QB Trace Hawkins has Committed to Clemson, he tells me for @Rivals The 6’1 190 QB chose the Tigers over Vanderbilt and LSU “AGTG!! GO TIGERS🐅” t.co/MuLN6hnODr

Hayes Fawcett broke the news for Rivals, and Hawkins didn't hold back on the reaction, going with the classic "AGTG!! GO TIGERS" caption to make it official. For a kid still two full years away from stepping on a college campus, that's about as loud as a commitment announcement gets.

This isn't some out-of-nowhere pledge, either. Hawkins has been building a relationship with the program for a while — he camped at Clemson last summer, made it back to Death Valley for a game against Duke last October, showed up for the spring game in March, and worked out for the offensive staff again in June. That's a lot of reps in the building before ever putting pen to paper.

The production backs up the buzz. Hawkins threw for 2,442 yards with 24 touchdowns against just 3 interceptions last season, numbers that have him ranked as the No. 16 quarterback nationally in the 2028 class by 247Sports. Beating out LSU and Vanderbilt for a four-star arm with that kind of efficiency is a solid early win for a staff that always treats quarterback recruiting like the top priority on the board.

It also matters that Hawkins is the first commitment of Clemson's entire 2028 class. Landing your quarterback of the future before you've locked in anyone else lets the staff build the rest of the class around him — receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen who fit his timeline. Clemson has run that quarterback-first recruiting model for years, and it's produced a string of names like Trevor Lawrence and Cade Klubnik under center.

Two years is a long runway, and plenty can change between now and Hawkins actually enrolling. But for a fanbase that's used to Clemson getting its guy early, this is exactly the kind of splash they wanted to see this far out.