Clemson misses out on blue-chip OT Elijah Hutcheson to Florida

Clemson football had reason to feel good about Elijah Hutcheson. That is what makes this one sting a little more.

Hutcheson, a four-star offensive tackle out of Roanoke, Va., committed to Florida over Clemson, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt, giving the Gators another offensive line win in a recruitment that had the Tigers very much involved. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound tackle is ranked as the No. 6 offensive tackle in the 2027 Rivals300, making him one of the bigger offensive line names still on the board before his commitment.

This was not just a random miss where the Tigers were hanging around the edge of a recruitment. Hutcheson had a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction pointing to Clemson at 100 percent, so there was at least some outside confidence that the Tigers were in a strong position. Instead, Florida closed the deal and added another talented lineman to its 2027 class.

The Gators have now landed multiple offensive line targets that Clemson was involved with, including Peyton Miller, who committed to Florida over Texas Tech, Clemson, and Texas. Maxwell Hiller is also part of that group, giving Florida a run of wins that Clemson fans with deep ball knowledge are catching onto.

That does not mean Clemson’s offensive line recruiting is suddenly in disaster mode, but it is fair to say Florida has been a real problem in this part of the cycle. When a program keeps beating you for players in the same position group, it starts to feel less like a coincidence and more like a trend worth watching.