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One of the biggest recruits that Boston College was still in on is now off the board. Suffield, Connecticut defensive tackle Christian Wilkins has made his commitment, and it is not with the Eagles.
Today I would like to announce my verbal commitment to Clemson University. #wetoodeep #onceatigeralwaysatiger #42 pic.twitter.com/ZjvpUFgydN
— Christian Wilkins (@cwilkins42) January 5, 2015
Wilkins, a 4* 6'5 305lb defensive tackle announced last week that he was going to make his decision this week, and he was true to his word. He slow played his recruitment, and many thought that he was going to either Penn State or Ohio State, with a few dreamers believing he would end up in Chestnut Hill. He held offers from a bunch of powerhouse programs including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, and Tennessee—just to name a few.
Shakin The Southland analyzed how Clemson played out and won the recruiting battle, impressive since many didn't think that the Tigers were high on Wilkins' list:
Brent Venables deserves the bulk of the credit here in the recruitment. He wasn't afraid to go up to Connecticut and make the contacts and do the bulk of the work on a guy that no one gave us much of a chance with. Wilkins moved extremely slow and wouldn't be rushed by anyone, which played into our favor as other big schools didn't want to invest the energy (especially if it was thought he would stay close to home). Wilkins has family in Rock Hill though, and with Venables work, this led to an official on-campus visit against Georgia State.
BC has one defensive tackle already in their 2015 with Ray Smith out of San Diego, California. But it would have been nice to have a blue chip stud like Wilkins out there as well. BC still has three scholarships to address needs going into next fall, surely Steve Addazio will find a good use for those either through recruits or transfers.
Again, there were only a few who thought that Wilkins would walk through Alumni Stadium's gates in Maroon and Gold. It just hurts a little to know that he still will walk through those gates...just in orange and purple.