Clemson made a big move last weekend with one of the nation’s top defensive linemen in the 2022 class, extending a new scholarship offer to Khurtiss Perry of Pike Road (Ala.) High School.
Perry reported the offer on Saturday.
“It feels so good to have a Clemson offer,” Perry told The Clemson Insider shortly after announcing the offer. “Just been getting recruited (by Clemson) from ninth grade. They kept pushing me, they kept believing in me.”
Perry (6-3, 265) is rated as a four-star prospect and ranked as high as the No. 7 defensive lineman and No. 31 overall prospect in the country for the 2022 class by 247Sports.
Clemson defensive tackles coach Todd Bates conveyed the offer to Perry after watching him play in person during Pike Road’s win over Andalusia (Ala.) High School on Friday night.
“He liked how I played and great things like that,” Perry said. “Then we talked after the game, and he told me that I received an offer from Clemson.”
According to Perry, who worked out with Bates at the Dabo Swinney Camp in June 2019, Bates views him as a versatile D-lineman who could line up on the edge and play inside at tackle on Clemson’s defense.
“He said that he liked my style of how I play,” Perry said. “He said I played just like a Clemson D-lineman. He said he sees me coming in playing defensive end, and on third down, he sees me going inside and making plays and being disruptive.”
Perry appreciated Bates’ presence at his game Friday and that Bates made the trip to see him compete.
“That means a lot to me, just seeing and knowing that a college is coming to see me play,” Perry said. “I just look at it as another blessing. It means a lot.”
Perry, a senior, has been building a relationship with Bates since he was a freshman.
“He keeps staying in touch with me and my mom,” Perry said, “and he’s always hitting me up, calling me, checking up on me, making sure I’m doing the right thing, staying on track.”
With an offer from the Tigers now in tow, Perry plans to attend a game at Death Valley sometime this fall, while he named LSU, Ohio State and Oregon as a few of the other schools he wants to see games at during the season. He traveled to Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State and UCF over the summer.
In July, Perry revealed a top 10 that included Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, Miami and all of the aforementioned schools, with the exception of Clemson.
But the Tigers are certainly one of Perry’s top schools now that they have entered the race with an offer.
“They stand big in my recruitment,” he said.
Asked what stands out most to him when he considers Clemson as one of his college choices, Perry simply said, “DLU.”
Perry transferred to Pike Road in August after previously attending Park Crossing High (Montgomery, Ala.). He tallied 173 tackles, 58 tackles for loss and 15 sacks in 2020.