Clemson stopped by Milton High School (Alpharetta, GA.) at the end of the school day on Thursday.
Mickey Conn spoke with the program’s head coach on a couple of prospects, including 2024 four-star wide receiver Debron Gatling, who has been on the Tigers’ radar since he camped at Clemson this past summer.
“It means a lot because I know that there’s a lot of talented prospects in Georgia and they took their time to come to see me,” Gatling told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Thursday night.
Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach invited Gatling, along with two of his teammates, to come to spring practice in March.
“I can’t wait to see the spring practices and get down there,” he said. “It’s like a family bond when you get down there and it feels like you’re just a part of the family already.”
He’ll likely be in attendance as he makes his first trip to The Valley since this past summer. That’s where he was able to first cultivate his relationship with Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham.
“The relationship’s been good since the camp,” Gatling said. “My trainer actually trains Dacari [Collins] up there. So, [Coach Grisham] is always asking my trainer about me and checking up on me and stuff.”
When Gatling camped at Clemson, Grisham was really impressed with his performance. According to Gatling, Clemson’s receivers coach was telling him that he was better than what he had thought he was and was really advanced for his age.
“It was great,” Gatling said of his time at the Swinney Camp. “I didn’t know that Coach Grisham was really that cool. It was just like talking to a friend and he really coaches good stuff, as far as routes and stuff, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s just a cool dude with a nice personality.”
Since Gatling is a sophomore, the topic of an offer is not a conversation that’s been broached just yet. However, he believes that an offer should be on the way once Clemson starts handing out offers to rising juniors.
“I think that’s great,” he said of Clemson’s recruitment process,” because that just means that they don’t offer everybody like some of these other schools. I feel like Clemson really makes you earn it and they want to make sure you’re a person that fits in their scheme and program before they just offer you.”
Clemson’s history at the wide receiver position is certainly appealing to a prospect like Gatling.
“That’s big because I actually grew up watching Clemson receivers like DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins and stuff like that,” Gatling said, “and I always wanted to be in their place. That’s why Clemson’s always been a top school for me, to be honest.”
How would Gatling describe himself as a player to someone who’s never seen him play before?
“I would describe myself as a player that can run any route in the route tree,” he said. “I can play the slot or on the outside. I’m really just versatile at any receiver spot. And, I can catch anything that comes my way.”
Clemson kept tabs on Gatling during the season, but it was former defensive tackles coach Todd Bates who had come to watch the sophomore receiver and his teammate, 2023 five-star defensive lineman Lebbeus Overton.
During his sophomore campaign, Gatliong recorded 36 receptions with 705 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, while averaging nearly 20 yards per reception.
Gatling (6-1, 180) currently holds offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Duke Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, Tennesee, Texas A&M, UCF and Utah.
Right now, he’s planning on visiting the University of Alabama on Jan. 29. In addition to Clemson, of course, he’s also planning to visit schools like Texas A&M, Oregon, Tennesee, Michigan and Ole Miss.
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