Among the class of 2023 recruits that had the chance to showcase their talent during all three days of Clemson’s overnight camp from June 10-12 was Landon Hale —a 6-foot-2, 191-pound three-star safety out of Yulee (Fla.).
“It was amazing,” Hale told The Clemson Insider. “My body, though, is extremely tired, sore and hurt. That was one of the toughest camps, mentally and physically, that I’ve done, but the coaching from everybody was just phenomenal. I feel like walking away from that camp I got a ton better in every area of my game.”
What type of feedback did Hale get from Clemson’s coaching staff?
“Each coach I worked with said I looked very good,” he said, “including Coach (Mickey) Conn. They were very impressed with my footwork and how coachable I was…even on one rep, Coach Dabo, he was even like, ‘Good job, Landon! Way to take coaching,’ because anything they would tell me, I was able to fix it the next rep and just get better.”
Regarding a potential offer, Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach told Hale’s parents that he has a very good shot. While Hale was on campus, he texted over his spring film and Conn told him that he was very impressed by what he saw.
“I think it’s coming, but it’s just gonna take time,” Hale said. “Obviously, having that safety that’s committed there (Kylen Webb) kind of puts a little more pressure on me, but you know what? I’m just willing to wait, trust God’s timing and if this is where I’m supposed to be, he’ll open this door.”
“It would mean a ton,” he said regarding a potential offer from the Tigers, “and I’ve already proven to them like, ‘You want to see me at a three-day camp? Cool, I’ll come. You want me to come up for a visit? I’ll come.’ I’m committed and I think some coaches took notice of that.”
At the end of the day, Hale feels like he can hang his hat on the fact that the ball is in Clemson’s court.
“I laid everything I had out there and Coach Conn noticed that,” he said. “I gave 110% every drill, every rep, every session. Looking back, there’s nothing I could’ve done better or gone harder at because I gave everything I had. I think I turned heads from every coach that was there, even all the other schools that were, like Furman and Chattanooga, all those other schools, they’ve been hitting me up too.”
Furman’s secondary coach, Corico Wright, was one of the coaches that helped out during the three-day session of Swinney Camp. Wright called Hale on Monday and told him that he was very impressed with him. He also told him that not many guys in his situation with how many offers he has would’ve come to a three-day camp.
Hale picked up his latest offer from Furman on Tuesday.
There should be more to come, though.
Looking back at it now, Hale is thrilled that he elected to participate in the three-day overnight camp at Clemson.
“I learned a ton every day and I feel like I got better,” Hale said. “When everybody was complaining or tired or they were saying they were sore, I just kept my head down and worked. I didn’t complain. I didn’t do nothing. I just did it again and did it again, every rep and every drill and I just got better and better.
“I was able to take coaching and in each session in the 1-on-1s, I kept doing better. That’s even what Coach Conn said. He noticed that my weave was better towards the last 1-on-1 sessions and I was doing better about my kick step and sliding…I think they can just tell that I’m a very coachable guy and that I love coaching and I embrace it. Whenever I get feedback, I apply it. I don’t just let it fall on deaf ears, I listen and apply it.”
Prior to Clemson, Hale took an unofficial visit to the University of Florida. At the time of our conversation with Hale, he had just made it to his hotel. His plans were to make an unofficial visit to the United States Naval Academy, as well as the University of Virginia.
If everything goes according to plan, Hale should be able to earn his first Power Five offer from Tony Elliott’s program.
As far as official visits go, Hale is weighing his options. Harvard, Ohio and FIU all want him to take an official, but he wants to hold onto some of those officials with the potential of schools like Clemson, Florida, Virginia and Oklahoma all entering his recruitment.
