This past weekend, Clemson played host to a slew of big-time prospects.
While a bunch of standout class of 2023 prospects were on campus Saturday, the majority of headlining recruits that visited were rising juniors in the 2024 class.
One of those was the nation’s top-ranked linebacker, and one of the top prospects in the 2024 class regardless of position — Jefferson (Ga.) High School’s Sammy Brown, who earned an offer from Clemson Saturday.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Brown said. “Clemson is an elite program and don’t give out a whole lot of offers. They are genuinely interested in me and have always given me great hospitality.”
“I was genuinely shocked because I was not expecting that offer that early,” he continued. “They had already told me that I had an offer waiting after this semester ended. It was very shocking and exciting. I couldn’t stop from smiling.”
Brown became the first player in the class of 2024 to earn an offer from the Tigers. Usually, Clemson waits until June 1 of a prospect’s junior year to hand out an offer.
In addition to Brown, Clemson handed out two additional offers to St. Francis High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star cornerback Branden Strozier and Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) four-star linebacker Jamal Anderson.
If you’ve paid attention to which players the Tigers pulled the trigger on an offer to the weekend prior, it should come as no surprise that both Strozier and Anderson were the latest priority targets to leave campus with offers in hand.
Strozier and Anderson are two prospects that we’ve written on before. In this instance, Clemson was looking to get both prospects on campus.
The Clemson Insider spoke with a total of 10 prospects this past weekend — including Brown — in terms of on-the-record, exclusive interviews. While TCI will have more to come, we wanted to pass along the latest information we’ve learned based on this past weekend’s events.
2023
Jalen Smith
Loganville (Ga.) Grayson 3-star LB
“It was a great experience,” Smith said. “I really had a great time. Me and my dad went. We really enjoyed it. We really enjoyed what Coach Swinney had to say about he keeps the program in check and really how he continues to maintain success over all these years he’s been there. We really like him as a coach and what he brings to Clemson.”
Prior to this past weekend’s visit, Smith had been recruited by Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Wesley Goodwin.
“I was talking to Coach Goodwin and he just said that I’m a great player,” Smith said. “He loves what I do on film and what I bring to the table. He says I’m a long guy with speed, as well as Coach (Mickey) Conn. I’ve talked with him before. They really like me down there, so we’ll just have to see where it goes.”
While he was on campus, Smith pretty much heard similar things, that the Tigers just like everything he does on film. Clemson is currently evaluating him right now, getting to know him more and continuing to build that relationship before they potentially pull the trigger on an offer.
“They just said that they like to get the right guys, so the process takes a while,” he said of a potential offer. “They just make sure that you’re doing everything the right way.
“It means a lot to me, seeing that they want to get to know me as a person. I feel like that’s the right way to do it, instead of just throwing an offer at someone, not knowing their background and who they are as a person.”
Semaj Turner
Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan 3-star DL
“The visit went really well,” Turner said. “As soon as I stepped on campus, it was automatic love. Everything felt very genuine. Clemson, I’d say right now, did a very good job of making me feel the loving environment of the Clemson family. It was just a very good visit.”
What did Turner hear from the coaching staff while he was on campus?
“I had really good conversations with Coach Ski, the defensive ends coach, Coach (Nick) Eason and Coach (DeAndre) McDaniel,” he said. “Clemson’s really big on relationships and we’re looking forward to building our relationship and I plan on coming back later in the spring. We’re just gonna keep building our relationship and whatever happens, happens.”
On the subject of a potential offer, Clemson told Turner that they want to focus on building a relationship with him because it’s still early in his process with the Clemson family.
“It could be possible in the future,” Turner said, “but they really just want to get to know me and I want to get to know them as well and keep building our relationships. That was the main thing.”
2024
Kam Pringle
Woodland (Dorchester, S.C.) 4-star OL
“It was fun,” Pringle said. “I had a good time just talking with the coaches and really going into depth about the nuts and bolts of the program. It was a great experience, just going deeper and deeper every time I step on campus.”
This was Pringle’s first time back on campus since Thomas Austin has taken over as Clemson’s offensive line coach. What did he hear from Austin this past weekend?
“Coach Austin, he was just letting me know that he’s still interested and that I’m a big priority for them,” he said. “Just talking about my future at Clemson, what they have to offer and what I could become under the development of him.”
Pringle did hear about a potential offer. That subject was broached with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.
According to Pringle, Swinney told him that in June — after he’s completed four semesters of high school — Clemson is going to check out his transcripts and likely pull the trigger on an offer from there.
“Like I said before, they’d definitely be a top priority school, maybe a top three school,” Pringle said when asked what a potential Clemson offer would mean for him and his recruitment. “It’s definitely something I would consider.”
“Every time I talk to Coach Swinney and Coach Austin, the reality of them in my recruitment, it just grows bigger and bigger,” he added.
Sterling Dixon
Mobile (Ala.) Christian 3-star DL
“It was crazy,” Dixon said. “It was a crazy experience. I loved it there. Clemson was definitely the standard for every other college. The facilities were nice. The coaches treated me nice. Everything was good.”
What did Dixon hear from Clemson’s staff while he was on campus?
“I got to talk to Lemanski Hall and he kind of just showed me around and was like, ‘If Clemson is the place you want to be, just keep coming and you’re gonna get the offer,’” Dixon said. “He was like, ‘We usually don’t offer sophomores, so just wait until your junior year and you’re gonna have that offer.’”
He also got to talk with Swinney, who talked with Dixon and his family and showed them a lot of love. According to Dixon, Swinney was telling him that he wants to get to know the players that he recruits and that he doesn’t just offer anyone.
“He was just telling me that I’m a great player and he’s gonna come down and see me very soon,” Dixon said.
What does that all mean to him?
“It’s a blessing,” Dixon added. “I just appreciate Clemson for doing that. They’re definitely gonna be one of my top schools. Clemson is the standard. It was just a blessing to be there and I appreciate them for considering me. They showed a lot of love. There wasn’t nothing else that they could’ve did.”
Jordan Shipp
Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.) 4-star WR
“It was good,” Shipp said. “I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot. I would say what stood out the most was how they don’t offer the ’24s. That’s what stood out the most. That’s probably one of the only schools I’ve heard of that don’t, but their reasoning is really good. That stood out a lot.”
Obviously, Shipp would love to have an offer from Clemson, but he’s appreciative that the Tigers want to build a relationship with him and that level of honesty goes a long way.
According to Shipp, once Tyler Grisham can finally start reaching out to him come Sept. 1, Clemson’s wide receivers coach really wants to build a relationship and make sure Shipp gets back for camp and another visit. He also wants Shipp to come for a game-day visit.
What does that mean to Shipp?
“It meant a lot because knowing that that’s one of the most powerful schools in the country,” Shipp said, “and being able to talk to the head coach of it all for so long and being able to talk with the position coach and him kind of know who I am, that just meant a lot. That was real special.”
Shipp revealed that his favorite part of the visit was getting to talk with Grisham.
“Being able to watch them practice and him being active in the practice,” Shipp said. “He was talking about how he likes to build relationships with his guys and how he still talks to his guys after they graduate, how he still talks to Tee Higgins and all those guys after they graduate.
“It also stood out was how Coach Dabo tries to make sure you get your diploma. That meant a lot too. It’s way more than football at Clemson.”
2025
Ethan Utley
Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth DL
“It was great,” Utley said. “It was great to hear Coach Swinney talk and give the logistics of like the program and how things worked around there. It was great to hear about the P.A.W. Journey a little bit more in-depth. It was great to see the practice. The practice was very exciting and something I wouldn’t mind being a part of.”
Utley has a longstanding connection with Lemanski Hall, who already has carved out a pretty significant relationship with the rising sophomore. He finally had a chance to see Hall in his element and watch how he runs a practice.
“It was great,” he said. “It showed a lot about when he’s comfortable with how he interacts with his players and that was great to see from my lens. I was just loving Coach Nick Eason’s energy and what he was doing with the interior defensive lineman. I loved how controlled and technically sound their interior group is.”
What did Utley hear from Hall and Eason when he was on campus?
“He was just talking about how I need to get back,” he said regarding what he heard from Hall, “so I can workout at Clemson one day, how they just loved having me back and how he’ll be back in Nashville to see one of my spring practices.”
“I learned a lot,” he added. “Me and Coach Eason talked for a really long time. It was just great talking to him and we were just talking about more than football.”
Additional Notes:
We messaged with the head coach of Troup County (Lagrange, Ga) four-star safety Noah Dixon, who made his first visit to campus Saturday.