While making the rounds on the recruiting trail last month, Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed stopped by a Peach State high school to check up on this highly regarded cornerback prospect.
Roswell (Ga.) High School’s Ethan Nation – a consensus four-star recruit in the class of 2023 – drew a school visit from Reed in mid-January.
“It means a lot just to know that a big school like that, with everything going on, that they’re still checking up on me and making sure that I know that I’m still like their top priority,” Nation said in an interview with The Clemson Insider.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior is ranked as high as the No. 8 cornerback and No. 82 overall prospect in the 2023 class by ESPN.
Though Reed couldn’t communicate with Nation directly at his school due to NCAA rules, he conveyed a message to Nation through his coach.
“He just passes on that he’s still really interested and that he just wanted to continue to talk and stuff like that,” Nation said.
Nation and Reed have been building a relationship for quite some time now, one that Nation says has “gotten really stronger over the course of the months.”
What has Nation been hearing from Reed of late?
“That they’re still highly interested and they just want to get me up there to visit,” he said.
Nation was invited to attend Clemson’s elite junior day last weekend but wasn’t able to make the trip, as he went to Auburn for its junior day. The weekend before, he traveled to Tennessee for its junior day.
Nation received an offer from Clemson when he visited in June of last year. When he considers Clemson, a plus for the Tigers is the fact that Reed stayed put amid all the coaching changes that have taken place on Dabo Swinney’s staff this offseason.
“Even with the whole staff change, that he still stuck with Dabo and just stuck with it means a lot,” Nation said. “And him still coming up to see me and knowing that they’re really interested also means a lot to me in the recruitment and relationship that I’m building with him.”
In addition to Clemson, Nation has offers from schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Oregon, Southern Cal and Texas A&M, among many others on his list of around four dozen offers.
Right now, he doesn’t have a timetable for his college decision.
“I’m still just feeling things out,” he said. “I don’t know when I really want to commit.”
Looking ahead to his upcoming senior season, Nation wants to use it as an opportunity to get ready for the next level.
“Just preparing for college, really, because I know the senior season’s really just going to be me preparing for college,” he said. “So, just getting bigger and stronger, just staying in the weight room.”
As a junior in 2021, Nation posted 30 tackles to go with 620 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense.
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