Among the uncommitted prospects in the 2022 class who were on Clemson’s campus for their official visits this past weekend was Montgomery Catholic Preparatory (Montgomery, Ala.) three-star defensive back Kylon Griffin.
Griffin, who was previously committed to Mississippi State, arrived on campus Friday evening and concluded his official visit Sunday afternoon.
“I really liked it up there,” Griffin told The Clemson Insider. “From the moment I stepped on campus, it felt like everyone was a family and everybody was united.”
Now that he can look and reflect back on his visit, Griffin admits the highlight of his trip to Clemson was getting to eat dinner at Dabo Swinney’s house with the rest of the official visitors on campus this past weekend and their families.
“It felt like everybody was all united once again and that everybody wanted to talk to each other,” he said. “Nobody was scared to interact with one another.”
Griffin indicated there was a family-type feel, even though it was the first time he and the other three recruits on campus had met one another. At the time of his conversation with TCI on Monday afternoon, Griffin said he was still in contact with Caden Story, Andrew Paul and Kobe McCloud.
“I think the main message was that you’re going to be a great person and you’re gonna do things right when you’re up there,” Griffin said, “and that’s gonna lead to being on the field.”
So far, Griffin has been able to carve out a “great” relationship with his lead recruiter, Mickey Conn. According to Griffin, Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach is in lockstep with Swinney. They want him to graduate, have fun and most importantly, hopefully, win a championship.
Griffin would fit right into the backend of Clemson’s secondary.
“I think I’m a long-ranging, physical DB,” he said when asked to describe himself as a player. “I love to tackle. I love to cover and take that receiver out of the picture, but I also love to tackle and be physical.”
If he were to come to Clemson, what role does the coaching staff envision for him?
“They compared me to K’Von Wallace,” Griffin said. “He was all-around the backend when he was there. I’m pretty sure they plan to use me all-around.”
While he was compared to one former Clemson safety, he got to spend his weekend with a current one. Clemson freshman standout Andrew Mukuba served as Griffin’s player host for the duration of his time on campus.
“I love him, man,” he said of Mukuba. “He’s real cool. He’s a great person himself. I don’t know if he was like that before he got to Clemson or when he got there, but he’s a real good person. He said the same thing, just feeding off of what Coach Conn and Coach Swinney had to say.”
Griffin said Mukuba told him a couple of stories. He told him about his journey when he first got to Clemson, how he earned the No. 1 jersey and what it took to become the All-American player he is.
While Griffin left Clemson with a strong impression of the program and a good feel for the culture, he’s still going to have to make a tough decision. He narrowed down his recruitment to just three schools and has one remaining visit to Southern Cal this coming weekend. Of course, he took a visit to Clemson this past weekend and was up at the University of Nebraska, the weekend prior.
“I loved it up there too,” Griffin said of his visit to Nebraska. “That place really struck me hard because it was more than what I expected.”
Griffin is going to have to sit down and make a difficult decision with his family as he weighs his options going forward. He does, however, plan on committing to his next home, prior to National Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 2.
That’s because he would like for his high school teammate and fellow Clemson target, four-star linebacker T.J. Dudley, to have his moment. If anything, that speaks to the character of a guy like Griffin.
Clemson will continue to make its final push for Griffin as Swinney, Conn and Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin will all conduct an in-home visit with Griffin Thursday.
Had an amazing time at Clemson this weekend. Thanks to all and I really appreciate it⚪️🟠🟣🐅 #ALLIN #Clemson pic.twitter.com/OdulBA6fxe
— Kylon Griffin (@kylonisland) January 23, 2022
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