Dee Crayton has been talking with Wes Goodwin for a good while now.
On Wednesday evening, Clemson co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach texted the four-star linebacker out of Denmark High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) and told him to call him. Goodwin had good news, he was offering Crayton — a 6-2, 215-pound junior — a scholarship.
“I was pretty excited,” he told The Clemson Insider in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “My parents were right there. I was in my room and I went and told my parents. They were pretty excited. They’ve been liking Clemson for a while now.”
Crayton’s head coach at Denmark, Mike Palmieri, coached Trenton Simpson at Mallard Creek. That connection to Clemson helped, especially after Brent Venables departed for the head coaching position at Oklahoma. While he was still with the Tigers, Venables served as Crayton’s lead recruiter and had discussions about a potential offer.
“It’s good because when (Coach Venables) left, I had a few connections, but it wasn’t as close,” Crayton said. “But, they kept recruiting me hard, which I really appreciated. They just got other coaches to stay on top of me with my recruiting and they came and visited my school multiple times. They weren’t giving up on recruiting me, so that was a big part of it.”
Goodwin was able to pick up where Venables left off.
“It’s been a pretty good relationship, we talk almost every day,” Crayton said. “He goes out of his way to talk to me and I really appreciate that because some coaches just offer you and they don’t talk to you. But, before Coach Goodwin offered me, he built a really solid relationship with me. It’s been a good couple of months since he first got the job and he’s been recruiting me and talking to me. I really appreciate that. It’s only gonna get stronger from here.”
Goodwin has made previous stops at Denmark High School and reinforced just how much of a priority Crayton is to Clemson.
Now that he officially has the offer in hand, Crayton will have the opportunity to return to campus and see Goodwin for either Clemson’s Junior Day on March 5 or a spring practice at a later date.
Clemson certainly has helped itself with Crayton following Wednesday’s offer.
“They definitely are a top school,” Crayton said. “They were a top school before they offered me because of the way they were recruiting me. I would say they are probably a top-2 school recruiting me. Even though they didn’t offer me before, like they just were recruiting me, sending me mail every day and sending me a whole bunch of graphics. The love that Clemson shows, I always feel that type of love.
What does it mean for Crayton to finally have that offer from the Tigers?
“Man, it’s huge,” he said. “The first camp I went to as a kid, not as a recruit, I remember my parents taking me there and staying overnight in the dorms. I just felt the love even then and I was too young to be recruited. It’s an amazing place, the people, the fans and coaches and all that, just the environment and atmosphere of Clemson…Clemson’s always had a special place in my heart.”
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