Clemson is showing interest in a versatile and athletic linebacker from the Yellowhammer State who describes himself as an all-around, “unpredictable” playmaker.
Carroll High School (Ozark, Ala.) four-star Karmelo Overton – a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior in the 2023 class – has been in contact with Tigers’ assistant coach Lemanski Hall.
“He asked for my film,” Overton told The Clemson Insider.
“They want me to come up for a spring practice,” he added.
Overton was still working to arrange a Clemson visit at the time he spoke with TCI, but said he was looking to travel to Tiger Town in hopes of making a good impression on the coaching staff and adding the Tigers to his offer list which already includes Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and Arizona State among others.
“I’m hoping I come up there, everybody loves me, I get the O (offer), and we just take stuff out from there,” he said.
Overton is ranked as high as the No. 198 overall prospect in the 2023 class by Rivals, which considers him the No. 8 inside linebacker in the country for his class.
Asked to sum up himself as a player, Overton simply responded, “Unpredictable on the field.”
“Any time I step on the field, I’m only out there for one reason, and that’s to make plays,” he added.
A multisport standout, Overton also competes in track and field, and has been doing so since he was in the seventh grade. He placed fourth as a sophomore last May at the Alabama 5A state meet in the 110-meter hurdles (15.73) and eighth in the 300-meter hurdles (42.82).
According to Overton, college coaches love the fact that he does hurdles, and he believes the skills he uses in track and field translates to his success in football as well.
“Being a person my size and playing the position I play, being able to jump over hurdles, that’s a big deal in everybody’s eyes,” he said.
“I feel like track in general helps everybody on the football field, no matter what position you play. Because it teaches you how to have a better get-off and everything else that comes with it – speed, all that.”
On the gridiron, Overton tries to emulate his game after Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons – a 2021 first-team All-Pro and the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year – and sees himself as a similar type of do-it-all linebacker.
“Just the fact that he’s big, he goes out and covers, and then he could rush the quarterback like he’s a D-lineman,” Overton said of why he looks up to Parsons. “At this day in time, you’ve got to be able to cover a running back, tight end, slot (receiver), just to even be considered as a good linebacker.”
As for where things stand with Overton in the recruiting process, he plans to release his list of top 10 schools sometime later this spring after he makes visits to check out various schools. The only visit he had locked in when he spoke with TCI was a trip to Mississippi State.
Several things will factor prominently into Overton’s eventual college decision.
“Coaching staff, team history, national championship worthy, location,” he said. “A little bit of everything will go into it.”
–Photo courtesy of Karmelo Overton on Twitter (@MeloOverton)
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