Dabo Swinney’s camp was the most helpful camp of the summer for this fast-rising Alabama defensive lineman.
Daphne (Alabama) Bayside Academy’s Graham Uter — a 6-foot-5, 275-pound junior in the class of 2024 —participated in the June 1 session of Swinney Camp — and feels like he can implement what he learned into his game for this season.
“I had a good time there,” Uter told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview last month. “I learned a lot there from Coach (Brandon) Streeter, Coach (Thomas) Austin, Coach (Nick) Eason and Coach (Lemanski) Hall. It was real organized and it opened my eyes to the college level and it made me realize that it’s possible for me to get there. It was just a great time.”
Was there anything in particular that stood out to Uter about his time at Clemson earlier this summer?
“It was a very organized camp and the competition was real high,” he said. “Probably the best competition that I had all summer there. The coaches and players were real involved with the camp, which was real nice.”
Uter worked out with the defensive line and said that he received some “good feedback” from the likes of Eason and Hall. They taught him a lot during his session at Swinney Camp, especially relating to his quickness and using his hands, knees and hips.
“It was just a great experience overall to talk to them,” Uter added. “They were teaching me stuff, pointers and things like that. What to keep working on to get film out. They were really good coaches. They were really involved with the camp and I really thought that they taught the stuff well. And they were real active with the players. They were great.”
As it relates to Clemson, Uter did inform us that one of the Tigers’ recruiting staffers told him that he’d be added to the defensive linemen recruiting board, which he said was “awesome to hear.”
“The recruiting coordinator from Clemson sent me a prospect questionnaire a couple of weeks ago,” Uter recently said in a message. “So, I hope I’m making progress with them.”
In addition to Clemson, Uter camped at schools like LSU, Troy, UAB, Auburn, Ole Miss, Alabama and Mississippi College.
He said that this summer’s experiences opened up his eyes to just how important recruiting is. Since then, Uter has been keeping in touch with coaches from Troy and UAB. He feels like this season will be big for him and his recruitment, considering that it’s his junior season. Sept. 1 will obviously be an indicator of what schools are interested in Uter going forward.
“I feel like this is my year to show all the (college) coaches that I’m a good player and that I deserve this,” Uter said. “And to show them that I’m worth college football.”
Getting a better feel for Uter and his game, he’s a big guy in the trenches, who can play the 3-tech (twitchier interior defender), nose tackle and defensive end. Not only is he tough and physical, but he’s good with his hands.
While Uter is focused on his junior campaign, he is also keeping an eye on potential game day visits. A visit to Memorial Stadium for a Clemson game day this fall could be in the cards.
“I would love to do that,” he said. “That would be amazing. I love that campus.”
— Photo for this article courtesy of @graham_uter on Twitter.
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