Top-20 DL recruit Hunter Osborne passes on Clemson football for Alabama
Clemson football missed on a commitment Monday from four-star defensive lineman Hunter Osborne, who announced his choice was Alabama.
Osborne didn't pick the Tigers from a final four that also included Tennessee and Texas. Clemson extended an offer on March 3 and received the first of his four official visits on June 3. He also made official visits to Auburn, Texas and Tennessee in June in addition to attending camp at Alabama.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound prospect plays for Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama, where he had 60 tackles last season, including 10 for loss and 5½ sacks. Osborne is ranked No. 130 overall and the No. 17 defensive lineman for 2023 in the 247Sports Composite.
South Carolina was the only SEC team to not offer Osborne, who holds eight ACC offers plus offers from Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma, Southern California, Penn State, Stanford and Oregon.
Clemson has 18 commitments for the current cycle, with all but two at least a four-star recruit. The Tigers are seventh in the 247Sports Composite 2023 recruiting class rankings behind No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Texas and No. 6 Oklahoma.
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Osborne would've joined Clemson's highly regarded group of defensive linemen in the Class of 2023, led by five-star Peter Woods (29th overall and third among linemen). The Tigers beat Alabama for his July 8 commitment despite Woods living 30 miles from Alabama's campus, where his father went to college. He joins quarterback Christopher Vizzina as Clemson's five-star commitments.
The other defensive linemen who have announced for Clemson are Georgia interior players Vic Burley (40th and fourth among), Stephiylan Green (203th and 31st) and AJ Hoffler (293rd and 42nd), who are joined by Washington D.C. end David Ojiegbe (232nd and 27th on the edge).
Four of the 15 defensive linemen with Clemson offers remain uncommitted, but the Tigers don't appear to be in the running for any of them. Among nine defensive ends holding offers, Clemson isn't receiving any interest from the six who haven't announced their decision.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football misses on DL Hunter Osborne, Alabama 4-star for 2023
