When he was back on Clemson’s campus, the atmosphere and the facilities almost immediately stood out to Jalyn Crawford.
Crawford — a 6-foot-2, 183-pound four-star sophomore out of Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) — has received some early attention from high-profile programs like Clemson and currently ranks as the No. 8 cornerback and the nation’s No. 108 overall prospect in the 2024 class, per 247Sports.
He made his way to Tiger Town on March 30 for an unofficial visit and caught up with The Clemson Insider shortly thereafter.
“I would say being in the meetings with Dabo, hearing him talking and seeing how they operate,” he said regarding what stood out the most during his visit.
“It was awesome, man,” Crawford continued. “Like I said, I’ve seen Dabo Swinney for like the third time. Nobody — except for the players sees him a lot — but regular folks are not just seeing Dabo three times. You feel me?”
Swinney instantly recognized Crawford, who said it meant a lot that Clemson’s head coach remembered him.
Crawford primarily spoke with Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed while he was on campus. He also got the chance to talk with two former Clemson legends who are currently on Swinney’s staff — C.J. Spiller and Tajh Boyd.
“They was basically just saying to keep my grades up and stuff like that,” Crawford said regarding the message he heard from Clemson’s staff.
According to Crawford, Clemson has been in consistent contact with his head coach at Parkview and said by June — when he’s a rising junior — that the Tigers may have some good news for him. That, of course, is in reference to a potential offer.
“It’s Clemson, c’mon,” Crawford said regarding a potential offer. “It’s not that far either. It’s like an hour and 30 minutes. So, if I get an offer from there, I wouldn’t be too far from people.”
Crawford is a long and tall cornerback who describes himself as “very aggressive.” His sophomore season went well for the most part. His team was on the younger side, but he certainly had fun.
His sophomore season, in part, helped him earn offers from programs like Arkansas, UCF, Ole Miss, Minnesota, Liberty, South Carolina and Louisville. Crawford also already held offers from schools like Pitt and Georgia Tech prior to last season.
“Everything’s been going good so far,” he said. “I have (nine) offers now. It’s been pretty good right now.”
Crawford was invited to attend Clemson’s Orange & White Spring Game on April 9, but he was unable to attend. However, he will be able to participate in the Dabo Swinney Camp this summer and will have the chance to work out with Reed again.
“He taught me a couple of things too,” Crawford said of Reed. “He taught me while playing off, just watch their hips and motor and keep my base. While he was talking to his players, he was just telling them to stay low and keep their patience.”
— Photo for this article courtesy of @jalyn_crawford on Twitter
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