A linebacker from the Tar Heel State has been in contact with Wes Goodwin and Mickey Conn.
East Lincoln (Denver, N.C.) 2023 inside linebacker Ben Cutter has been texting back and forth with Clemson’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Cutter sent Goodwin his highlights and asked him if he could get back to him on anything he can work on or anything that he sees on film that he could get better at going forward.
“Just the things I’ve heard about him, he seems to be a really good coach,” Cutter said of Goodwin in a recent conversation with The Clemson Insider. “I think that he’s ready to take over a bigger role and it just happened to be that he got it now.”
Both Goodwin and Conn are keeping tabs on Cutter.
Conn, Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach had been keeping in touch with Cutter prior to Brent Venables’ departure to Oklahoma and has continued to do so with the Tigers’ now-former defensive coordinator in Norman.
He gets the sense that Clemson is interested in him and wants to continue to cultivate relationships with the coaching.
While he’s unsure of when he’ll be making a return visit to Clemsom, Cutter would love to be back in Tiger Town in the near future.
As far as his junior campaign is concerned, Cutter ended his season with 158 tackles (averaging 13.2 per game), a pick-six, four forced fumbles and a sack. He feels like he played pretty good, despite dealing with a shoulder injury across his first couple of games. Cutter was also hobbled by an ankle injury as well.
“This season was really good getting my film out,” he said. “I actually made a highlight tape of my sophomore and junior season(s), it was my top-25 plays. It looks really good. I’ve been sending that out.”
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who watches more film than Cutter.
He plays the MIKE-backer position in his school’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme. Cutter can play all-around and just about every linebacker position, but because of his height — he’s 6-1 — the MIKE position is a better fit for him at the next level.
Cutter’s looked at as the quarterback of his defense and he’s been in that position since his sophomore year. He repeats the plays and makes sure everyone around him knows what they’re doing. He prides himself on his leadership.
He’s definitely a fan of the way James Skalski plays. Cutter was fortunate enough to watch the highly-decorated Clemson linebacker in person this past season.
“I love the way Skalski plays,” Cutter said. “He’s really good. Watching him play in the game’s I went to this year teaches me a lot about how to be aggressive and attack things. It seems like even when another team runs a trick play and nobody else knows what’s happening, he’s always on it.”
Cutter participated in the Adidas All-American 2022 National Combine in San Antonio (TX.) on Friday, Jan. 7.
He continues to receive more interest on the recruiting trail and is hopeful that his times this past weekend’s combine will help further put him in the spotlight.
In addition to his Clemson interest, the under-the-radar linebacker holds offers from App State, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina and Liberty.
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