A talented local prospect made the short trip to Clemson as an unofficial visitor for Saturday’s game between the Tigers and Georgia Tech at Death Valley.
Wren High School (Piedmont, S.C.) 2023 defensive back Travon West thoroughly enjoyed the experience and couldn’t have had a better time on campus.
“I loved it,” he told The Clemson Insider after the visit. “It was truly amazing, and I had a wonderful time from the moment I got there to the moment I left.”
Saturday marked West’s third time taking in a game at Death Valley.
“It was an amazing atmosphere,” he said.
For West, the best parts of the visit were listening to Dabo Swinney’s pregame speech to his team and then getting a close-up look at “the most exciting 25 seconds in college football” as the Tigers rubbed Howard’s Rock and ran down the hill prior to their eventual 14-8 win over the Yellow Jackets.
“The highlight of the visit was being able to go in the locker room and hearing Coach Swinney speak to the team before game time,” he said, “and being able to stand right beside the rock as the team went on the field.”
Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed is the coach that West spoke the most with while on campus Saturday.
“We just talked about how football was going and how life was, just the basics,” West said.
West (6-0, 165) is in the process of building a solid bond with Reed, while also communicating with defensive coordinator Brent Venables, and is optimistic that he’ll receive an offer from the Tigers in due time.
“I believe it’s going good,” he said of his relationship with Reed. “I know that they’re very interested, and him and Coach Venables stay in touch with me on Twitter, but other than that just being patient. I feel it’ll come though.”
West picked up his first offer from Kansas State on June 3 and has since added offers from West Virginia, Charlotte, Marshall, Troy and Eastern Kentucky.
An offer from Clemson and the opportunity to play for the Tigers in Death Valley would obviously be huge for the local standout.
“It would be exciting and would mean a lot to me,” he said.
West has also visited Marshall this season and plans to see games at Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Penn State. He intends to return to Clemson at some point moving forward but isn’t sure yet when he might make it back to Tiger Town.
West participated in the Swinney Camp this past June and also camped at South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Penn State and Marshall during the summer.
Loved being able to be near Howard’s Rock and the environment of it. Most exciting time throughout the whole day! @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/yBzzlRTMU1
— Travon “D7” West (@west_travon) September 19, 2021
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