While Robert Billings’ senior season is already underway, The Clemson Insider wanted to get a better feel for the four-star safety out of Alpharetta (Georgia) Milton High and who he is as a person on and off the field.
Who better than his head coach at Milton, Ben Reaves?
TCI spoke with Reaves in a phone interview over the weekend. He detailed the Clemson class of 2023 commit’s journey to become the player he is up until how he performed in the season opener of his senior campaign against Lipscomb Academy this past Friday.
“He did really well,” Reaves said. “The thing about his senior season — and this just speaks to his character and the character of some other seniors on the team — we’re returning five starters out of 22. And, we got a lot of sophomores starting, several freshmen. The word that kind of circulates around Robert and our team is that this is a rebuilding year. Robert and some other guys have come together and said, ‘Not on my watch. This isn’t a rebuilding year. We’re gonna reload and do what we do. And I’m gonna make sure that happens.’”
Billings is out there playing with a passion and playing with fire. Not only for the Milton football program, but for all the doubters who are skeptical about the Eagles this season.
In Milton’s 17-7 loss to Lipscomb Academy, which is coached by former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, Billings accounted for seven solo tackles (one for loss), a pass breakup and went 1-of-1 passing for 15 yards on a trick play.
The Nashville-based school is coming off a state championship and the last time they came to the Peach State, they scored 76 points. While the game could’ve gone either way, the Eagles had a busted coverage due to some miscommunication, which Billings was not involved in, and then they went on to miss two field goals.
“I was proud of him and the team the other night,” Reaves said. “Like I said, returning five starters — a lot of guys that have never touched the field before were playing the No. 20 team in the nation. We fought with them every single play, tooth and nail…regardless, our team fought every play and they didn’t stop until that clock hit zero and Robert was one one of the main ones leading the charge.”
Reaves continued to speak highly of Billings as a player but also wanted to touch on his character as well.
“Just as a person and a player, he’s just such a good example of what it means to be a Milton Eagle,” Reaves said. “He’s one that’s trusted our process, trusted his coaches. In this day and age, where everybody wants to play varsity as a freshman and wear No. 1 as a freshman and not work your way up the totem pole — he’s the one that trusted us when we asked him to do that. Always remained humble through it. Never questioned anything we were doing as coaches. And he’s one I’ll always use as an example to younger kids of when you trust the guys around you and you buy into what the program has to offer for you, good things will happen.”
Billings is a soft-spoken guy in the hallways of Milton High and off the field, but once he puts the pads on, he hits really loud.
“He’s trying to wreak havoc and take somebody’s head off every time he gets the chance to tackle,” Reaves said. “So, he’s definitely that tone setter on defense that you love to have. It also just makes me feel better knowing that he’s the last line of defense. If something were to break down up front, I know he’ll find a way to keep those guys out of the endzone.”
Billings is super athletic and could be a big-time prospect on both sides of the football. His ball skills, movement and speed are just that good. According to Reaves, Billings could be an “incredible” receiver.
“He’s got great hands,” Reaves said. “Normally at the DB position, they say the difference between a DB and a receiver is that one can catch and one can’t, but he can get up there and snag it.”
That’s exactly what Mickey Conn, Wesley Goodwin and Dabo Swinney saw when they recruited Billings to come to Clemson. Billings announced his verbal pledge to Swinney’s program back on July 31, but had informed Clemson’s coaching staff of his decision during the program’s All-In Cookout a week or so prior.
“He’s gonna be a great fit at Clemson,” Reaves said. “Obviously, we’ve had two other guys (Paul Tchio and Joseph Charleston) that signed there that have since both transferred, which is unfortunate…but just what I know about the family atmosphere, the accountability, the All-In mindset — that’s what Robert is. That’s what he craves to be around and he’s gonna thrive in that environment.”
Looking at Billings’ high school career, he sat on the bench for his first two years. He sat there and put faith in the Milton coaching staff and trusted the process. Reaves thinks he’s gonna be able to rely on those moments when he gets to Clemson and continues to grow and thrive there when he goes from being one of the top safeties in the state to back to being a freshman again at one of the top program’s in the nation.
“I have no doubts he’ll do well there and he’ll be All In,” he added.
Once he does arrive at Clemson, what can Clemson fans expect out of Billings?
“The thing about Rob is once he’s on the field, he’s gonna do something to be noticed,” Reaves said. “It’s not gonna take long for the fanbase to pick him out because he’s a heat-seeking missile where the football is and he’s gonna try to do something to get that entire stadium rocking. So, you got a player that not only has all the attributes that you have to have to go to Clemson, but a player that can bring a lot of energy to the stadium and the fanbase. They’re gonna have a blast watching him and waiting for him to make that next big hit that’s gonna get everybody going.”
Is there anything that Billings’ head coach would like to see the big-time safety prospect improve on before he heads to Clemson?
“I think he’s gonna put in the work,” Reaves said. “He’s gonna continue to get better. Just for his age and where he’s at in his career, he doesn’t have big-time deficiencies. There’s not a ton of stuff that he needs correcting before getting to Clemson. Of course, there’s stuff that he can always improve on and he’ll continue to do that, but I think my main goals are more on the personal level. I feel like he’s given so much to this program that I want to make sure that whenever he leaves this program, he feels like we prepared him to be a good man, prepared him for college and what’s at stake there. And felt like we gave him as much as he’s given us.”
— Photo for this article courtesy of Robert Billings.
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