Clemson adds four-star DL Keshawn Stancil to Top 10 recruiting class

Clayton (NC) High four-star defensive lineman Keshawn Stancil has committed to Clemson.

The blue-chipper chose to play for head coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers over Georgia, Miami, NC State and Penn State.

“Clemson is the school I’m choosing,” Stancil told On3. “They just pushed me to all my limits with grades and challenging me throughout the whole process just making it the right fit for me.”

Nick Eason was the lead recruiter in pushing for the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Stancil who ranks as the nation’s No. 9 defensive lineman and No. 73 prospect overall. He took official visits to each of his other finalists, but ultimately the connection with the coaching staff that he and his family had paid off for the Tigers.

“Just the relationship Coach Swinney and Coach Eason built with my mom,” Stancil said of what else made Clemson right for him.

Stancil becomes commit No. 20 for Swinney and the Tigers in the 2026 recruiting cycle. It was a class the On3 Industry previously ranked No. 8 nationally.

Clemson was the full package academically, athletically and with the support Stancil would have around him over the next few years.

”Coach Swinney has a certain type of mentality when it comes to attacking academics and football,” Stancil said. “He’s just so passionate about it.”