CLEMSON — Clemson football and coach Dabo Swinney added their second defensive lineman in the 2026 recruiting class with the commitment of three-star JR Hardrick.
The 6-foot-6, 231-pounder from South Pittsburg High in Tennessee is rated the No. 26 player in the state by the 247Sports Composite rankings. Hardrick chose Clemson over Virginia, Mississippi State and Louisville. He announced his commitment on X on June 5.
Advertisement
Hardrick helped South Pittsburgh to a 12-4 record last season. He joins three-star Kameron Cody as Clemson’s two defensive lineman commitments. Hardrick is also the second player to commit to Clemson within the past two days, joining four-star offensive lineman Leo Delaney.
Swinney’s 2026 class is ranked No. 3 nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and it has 12 four-star recruits and five three-stars commits. It is a complete change from last year’s cycle that finished with 15 signees and ranked 26th nationally, which was Swinney’s lowest-rated cycle since 2010 and his smallest class since 2017.
Hardrick is the first recruit from Tennessee in the 2026 class to commit to the Tigers. He is also the fifth defensive player to commit to Clemson.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: JR Hardrick commits to Dabo Swinney in 2026 class
