CLEMSON — After making big noise nationally with a recruiting class ranked as high as No. 2 in the country – by ESPN.com – the Clemson Tigers have opened the 2009 recruiting season with a bang, already securing verbal commitments from two of the nation’s most sought after defensive backs.

On April 30, CUTigers.com reported the nation’s top-ranked safety – Houston, Texas star Craig ‘Poppa’ Loston – had informed the Clemson coaching staff of his intentions to play for the Tigers, and Monday, the website reported that Independence High School (Charlotte, N.C.) standout Devonte Holloman – the nation’s No. 2 ranked safety – had followed suit.

Both players are five-star prospects, according to Scout.com, and in Rivals.com’s Rivals100, Loston is ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the country regardless of position, while Holloman is ranked as the No. 69 overall prospect.

Loston is listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds and has a reputation as a very physical and instinctive safety, who plays with a mean streak that can be intimidating to opponents.

Holloman checks in at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, but might actually be a couple of inches taller than that and will likely weigh 215-220 by the time he steps foot on Clemson’s campus. Holloman also spent a good deal of time last season at quarterback for Independence, a perennial powerhouse.

Both players have stated that they plan to enroll early at Clemson, meaning they will be on campus in January – though there is a long way to go until then, and both will certainly continue to be heavily recruited by other schools.

Holloman represents the eighth public verbal commitment for Clemson in 2009, committing about two weeks after Loston.

The Tigers’ also have verbals from Icard, N.C. fullback Tyler Shatley; Warner-Robbins, Ga. linebacker Eric Fields; West Florence defensive end Malliciah Goodman; Sumter running back Roderick McDowell; Shelby, N.C. receiver Larry Raper; and Christ Church offensive tackle J.K. Jay.

Fields and Jay are both rated four-star prospects by Scout.com, while Goodman, McDowell and Raper have received three-star markers by the service. According to Rivals.com, Fields, Goodman, Holloman, Jay and Raper are all listed as four-star recruits.

The list of prospects the Tigers are still after is way too long to list, but some of the key names in-state are Greenwood defensive end Sam Montgomery, Columbia linebacker Damario Jeffery – who previously de-committed from the Tigers – and Rock Hill athlete Stephon Gilmore.

On the national front, Clemson is involved with many of the nation’s highest-ranked recruits, Fayetteville, N.C. offensive tackle Xavier Nixon; Naples, Fla. offensive guard Nick Alajajian; Gadsden, Ala. receiver Kendall Kelly and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick; and Carmel, Ind. quarterback Morgan Newton – all are regarded as five-star propects by Scout.com.