The wide receiver prospect who collected Clemson’s first offer at his position, when the Tigers began dispensing offers to class of 2024 recruits, was in attendance at Memorial Stadium for the NC State game last Saturday.
Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) four-star Alex Taylor made the trip to Tiger Town over the weekend with his father and godfather.
“Man, the atmosphere was amazing,” Taylor told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview. “I don’t know how much people went there, but it was super loud. Watching the team run down the hill, we was like right next to them. That was super exciting as well. I got to talk to Coach Swinney and Coach Grisham. It was a good day.”
“Definitely the crowd,” he said regarding what stood out about the atmosphere in Death Valley. “The crowd was super loud. If it wasn’t sold out, it was close to being sold out. All the seats were packed out. It was just a super loud atmosphere and very fun to be in.”
While on campus, Taylor spent plenty of time with receivers coach Tyler Grisham, as well as Dabo Swinney.
What did it mean for Taylor to get a chance to speak with Clemson’s head coach?
“It was super exciting,” Taylor said. “Growing up, seeing him as one of the Hall of Fame coaches and Clemson being a prestigious school, I was super excited to talk to him for a little bit. Just telling me that I’m one of the only 2024s they’ve offered. They’ve only offered me and Jonathan Paylor. So, that’s super exciting as well, just knowing that I’m on their radar and one of the priorities.”
As for Grisham, Taylor said that he couldn’t really say all that they talked about because it was a lot. They talked for over an hour as Taylor made sure to get down to Clemson on the earlier side.
“We was just talking about a lot of things,” Taylor recalled. “He made me feel like a priority. I kind of toured the campus with (former Clemson receiver and current graduate assistant) Artavis Scott. That was pretty exciting too, talking with him as well since he used to play there about four years ago. Speaking with him about how the recruiting process went with him and how he likes Clemson, now that he’s back with the coaching staff.”
While Taylor felt welcomed by the coaching staff, he was also in the presence of someone he’s become rather close with during the recruiting process. Taylor and Paylor, a four-star receiver out of Burlington (N.C.) Hugh M. Cummings High School made plans to attend the NC State game together and sat with one another during last Saturday’s contest.
“It was super exciting, just me and him being from the 336 area code,” Taylor said. “We’re not too far away for him. Just putting on for N.C. is just super exciting for us…Being at the game with him and just having a lot of fun and really just sharing the recruiting process with him as well.”
Being a receiver himself, Taylor keyed in on the production that Clemson is getting out of that position. He said that he really liked offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter’s playcalling and how Clemson utilizes its receivers in its offense.
“First few weeks the offense started a little slow, but D.J.’s (Uiagalelei) is getting comfortable and the receivers are playing well,” Taylor said. “Antonio Williams, true freshman, he kind of broke out on the scene. I’ve talked to Adam Randall a little bit already and just him coming back…They give their receivers chances to make big plays just on that slant and go.”
While Grisham hasn’t yet told Taylor how Clemson would plan on using him at the next level, he said that when they get the chance, they’re gonna break down film and take a deep dive into the offense.
Taylor imagines that’ll likely come after the season. Though, he’s trying to get to either the Miami game on Nov. 19 or the South Carolina game on Nov. 26.
Now that he got to experience his first gameday in The Valley, where does Clemson currently stand in Taylor’s recruitment?
“I don’t really have a list right now, but definitely one of my top schools,” he said.
As far as his current recruitment is concerned, Taylor said that he’ll drop an offers and interest list after the season. Then, he’ll cut that down to about 10-12 teams in the spring and likely render a college decision next summer
In addition to Clemson, Taylor says that schools like Virginia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Michigan State and Florida State, have been coming after him the hardest Since Sept. 1, when college coaches could begin directly contacting juniors in the class of 2024 like himself.
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