One of Clemson’s top safety targets in the class of 2023 dropped his final five schools this past Monday afternoon via social media.

Selma (Alabama) 2023 four-star safety DaKaari Nelson is down to Clemson, Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oregon and Penn State.

Nelson (6-3, 195) is ranked as high as the No. 4 safety and No. 80 overall prospect in the 2023 class by Rivals. According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, he is the No. 16 safety and No. 162 overall prospect in his class.

Clemson got Nelson on campus for the program’s Elite Junior Day and the Tigers would later pull the trigger on an offer. Ever since then, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Mickey Conn has reinforced to Nelson that he is a priority to Clemson in the class of 2023.

According to Nelson, Conn sees him as a versatile player, where he can play him back and cover, but also bring him down to blitz off the edge.

“He’s been trying to come along,” Nelson said. “He was telling me to come on, so they can build their defensive recruiting class around me and how I play.”

Conn isn’t alone in his pursuit of Nelson.

Briarwood Christian (Alabama) four-star Christopher Vizzina has been on Nelson’s case ever since he verbally pledged to Clemson. The two, of course, are 7-on-7 teammates and Clemson’s quarterback commit has let Nelson know just how much he wants him to follow him to Tiger Town.

“At our last 7-on-7 tournament, we sat down and when I told him my top schools, he was explaining,” Nelson recalled, “he was like, ‘Bro, what school on that list is most likely to win a national championship in the next couple of years.’ He was really recruiting me. He texts me every couple of days actually.”

Nelson has an official visit to Penn State on June 10. While he has yet to set one for Clemson, he indicated that will be the final official visit he takes before he signs. As far as a potential decision goes, it’s just something Nelson takes a day-to-day approach to. If he feels like a place is home, he will commit before the early signing period in December.

 Here’s a summary of Nelson’s thoughts on each school in his top five.

Clemson

“They made the list because like I said last time when we visited, they treated me well and they’re a very humble coaching staff. They’re still consistently in contact and my family really loved that visit. That was one of their favorite visits.”

Auburn

“They made the list because with them, of course, they’re the in-state team, but I have a former teammate (Jeremiah Wright) who plays there now. He speaks highly of them, not just because he plays there. Me and him are really close. He tells me a lot about how they speak on me and how much they really want.

“(Secondary) Coach (Zac) Etheridge, he keeps in contact with me a lot.”

Tennessee

“Tennessee, they were one of my first offers, so they’ve been heavy in contact, consistently in contact ever since then. Another reason that helped them is that my recruiting class for them is a really strong class and the program players that have committed to them already have been doing a good job recruiting, trying to get me on board.”

Kentucky

“If you can see my top-11, Kentucky wasn’t in my top-11. They noticed that and they asked what they weren’t doing that other schools were doing. I told them and then they’ve been in heavy contact with me and my family. I got some 7-on-7 teammates that visited and they spoke highly about them. They were telling me how much they’re trying to get me up there to visit and how much they really want me. They were really just telling me just go look before I scratch them off.”

Oregon 

“Oregon made the list because with them offering me, it really showed me that if they want somebody, they’ll come high and far to look for them. They’ve been in heavy contact since then.”

Penn State

“Penn State made it because when we went up there and visited, they treated us well also. They treated my family great. That was probably my family’s favorite visit, like my sisters and them. They’ve been in heavy contact. They’ve been great with explaining how they plan on using me and what’s their plan for me. Every school tells you they need you or they want you, but they did a great job explaining to me why they want me and why they need me.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of @he2_quick on Instagram.

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