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The Clemson football team picked up a big commitment from the 2026 recruiting class on Tuesday as four-star safety Kaden Gebhardt announced that he is going to play for the Tigers. It's still early in the 2026 cycle, but Clemson is off to an incredibly hot start, and they still have a lot of targets that are still out there. Landing a commitment from Gebhardt is big, and they beat out schools like Ohio State and Notre Dame to earn the commitment.
“BREAKING: Class of 2026 Safety Kaden Gebhardt has Committed to Clemson, he tells me for @on3recruits,” Hayes Fawcett said in a post. “The 6’2 195 S from Lewis Center, OH chose the Tigers over Ohio State, Penn State, & Notre Dame.”
Kaden Gebhardt had a short and sweet message for Clemson football fans upon his commitment:
“Blessed! I’m All IN!🐅” Gebhardt said.
Gebhardt is a four-star recruit according to 247Sports. He is the #214 player in the 2026 recruiting class, the #15 safety and the #7 player in the state of Ohio. Gebhardt currently attends Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio. Taking a recruit right out of Ohio State's backyard is a huge win for the Tigers.
“First Team All-OCC, OCC Defensive POTY and First Team All-District as a junior after making 94 tackles (six for loss) with two interceptions,” Gebhardt's scouting report reads. “Had 129 tackles (four for loss), three interceptions, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles with a sack as a sophomore.”
The Ohio native is one of the top safety prospects in the 2026 class, and he racked up an impressive list of offers. Gebhardt earned offers from schools like Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, USC, UCLA, Penn State, Ohio State, Auburn, Wisconsin and many other power four schools. At the end of the day, Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney was able to win over the four-star recruit.
Clemson still has a lot of work to do in the 2026 class, but they are off to an incredibly hot start as they already have 12 commits. The Tigers have landed zero five-stars, eight four-stars and four three-stars. Right now, Clemson has the #2 recruiting class in the entire country. Only USC is ranked higher.
The Tigers are off to a hot start, but it is too early to start getting excited about recruiting rankings. Clemson finished with the #26 recruiting class for the 2025 cycle, and that is not up to standard. They are doing well so far, but they need to make sure to finish this class out strong to actually end up with an elite ranking.
