The top name in Clemson’s 2027 recruiting class isn’t acting like a shut-down commitment just yet.
Jamarin Simmons, the five-star wide receiver from Tallahassee and the highest-ranked player in Clemson’s class, is still pledged to Dabo Swinney’s program. But in interviews published Sept. 15 and Sept. 16, he made clear Florida is still very much in the mix, with the Gators continuing to work on him after finishing second in his recruitment.
“They love the game of football, and I love the game of football,” Simmons told Gators Online. “I feel like, if I was to go to Florida, that would be a good option for me, too.”
Simmons also left the door open to seeing Gainesville in person. He told the website he might attend a Florida game, though nothing is set.
“I could get down there for a game, but I don’t have nothing set,” Simmons said.
For now, though, he says Clemson remains the place he’s committed to. In a separate interview with Swamp247, Simmons backed up that message and said the Tigers still feel like the right fit even after their 1-1 start.
“They still have a few missing pieces, but I feel like that’s still home for me right now,” Simmons told Swamp247 in a Sept. 16 interview.
Florida’s push is being led by receivers coach Marcus Davis, who has stayed on Simmons and is trying to get him back on campus.
“He’s telling me that I need to be a Gator, and that I need to come down there for a game so I can lock in and see him again,” Simmons told Gators Online.
Simmons, who plays at Godby High School, is listed by 247Sports’ in-house rankings as the No. 5 receiver and No. 26 overall prospect in the country. The 247Sports composite has him as a four-star and the No. 94 player nationally.
At 5-11 and 165 pounds, Simmons has been productive all the way through his high school career. He had more than 900 receiving yards as both a sophomore and a junior, and through five games of his senior season he has 28 catches for 559 yards and six touchdowns. That works out to 111.8 yards per game.
Clemson beat out Florida, Florida State, Tennessee and Auburn when Simmons committed on May 20. He remains the top player in Clemson’s 2027 class, which is ranked No. 13 nationally.
He’s scheduled to be back around Clemson soon, with plans to attend the Oct. 3 home game against No. 6 Miami at Memorial Stadium. That visit matters because Clemson’s policy under Swinney has long been that verbally committed recruits don’t visit other schools after picking the Tigers, which could complicate any trip Simmons makes to Florida.
The nickname attached to Simmons says plenty about his recruiting profile: “Waffle House,” a nod to the idea that he’s “always open.”
And Clemson has had to deal with that kind of openness before. The Tigers have been hit by decommitments in recent cycles as NIL has changed the recruiting landscape. Clemson lost five commits from its class of 2025 in the four months before signing day, then four more the fall before the 2026 class signed, and all nine ended up at other Power 4 schools.
In the current 2027 class, Clemson has already lost one commit: three-star Georgia defensive back Seth Williams, who flipped to Georgia.
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