Among the standout wide receivers who had the chance to showcase their talent on the second day of Dabo Swinney on June 2 was Markeis Barrett — a 6-foot-1, 170-pound four-star rising junior from the Webb School of Knoxville in Tennessee.
“It was good,” Barrett told The Clemson Insider regarding his Swinney Camp experience. “I loved it. I liked it because it was more of a learning experience and they weren’t focused on the combine or stuff like that. They just really wanted to get some good work in.”
What type of feedback did he receive from Clemson’s coaching staff?
“I learned from Coach Grisham and also Coach Dabo,” Barrett said. “They taught me when I’m in my receiver stance to get lower and also have my front foot pointed forward instead of being curved in.”
For Clemson’s head coach to give him receiving tips, meant a lot to Barrett.
“I like Coach Dabo,” he added. “I learned a lot from him. When I caught the ball, he told me to keep it in the hand that I catch it with. Say you run a slant and you catch it on the inside, you’ll keep it on your left, instead of putting it back on your right.”
After he camped, Barrett was shown around campus and had the chance to meet a lot of Clemson’s coaching staff. He had the opportunity to speak with both Swinney and Grisham after the camp concluded for the day.
“I think he’s a good coach,” Barrett said of Clemson’s wide receivers coach. “He’s definitely somebody I’d want to play for.”
At the time of our conversation with Barrett, Clemson had yet to offer any class of 2024 wide receivers. The Tigers have since offered both Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) four-star Alex Taylor and Cummings (Burlington, N.C.) four-star Jonathan Paylor.
According to Barrett, Grisham told him that an offer was “definitely a possibility.” At the same time, Barrett felt like he improved his case and showed that he was an offer-worthy candidate when he worked out for Clemson’s receivers coach.
“I think that would be big,” he said regarding a potential offer from the Tigers. “That’s most definitely a place I’m shooting to get an offer from.”
When he camped at Clemson, Barrett was joined by Brandon Winton, Jr. — a 6-foot-1, 195-pound three-star rising junior from Bradenton’s (Fla.) IMG Academy. Barrett and Winton are former teammates and best friends. They’re helping each other throughout the recruiting process and have gone on several visits with each other this summer already.
“It was amazing,” Barrett said regarding visiting Clemson with Winton, “because that’s a school that we like a lot. It was pretty cool to go with him and have him right up there with me. I feel like we both feel the same way about Clemson.”
After camping at Clemson, Barrett was planning to camp at the University of North Carolina and Alabama. He also had visits planned for Virginia Tech and Cincinnati.
Barrett would like to get back to Tiger Town in the near future. He’d also like to keep building a relationship with Grisham, as well as the remainder of Clemson’s coaching staff.
Barrett ranks as high as the nation’s No. 33 athlete and No. 3 prospect in the state of Tennessee for his class, per 247Sports.
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