This big-time offensive lineman who many refer to as “Flapjack” will be at Clemson’s Junior Day come March 5, he confirmed to The Clemson Insider in an exclusive phone interview Monday.
Eagles Landing Christian (Mcdonough, Ga.) four-star Zechariah Owens has been on the phone recently with Thomas Austin. He’s kept in contact with Clemson’s offensive line coach since and they’re building a relatively strong relationship.
“Basically, the way he teaches his program, I’m really gonna like it and he can’t wait for me to come up,” Owens said regarding what he’s been hearing from Austin. “He said when I get up there, we’re gonna probably evaluate some film, looking at everything and see the way I play.”
Austin has been in contact with Owens since January when he first started to stop by Eagles Landing during the live period.
“He would come to the school, really wanting to talk to me,” Owens said. “I told him that I was very interested in (Clemson), based on the last time I went to the camp.
“He actually takes his time to talk to me. This past Thursday night, he called me while he was out with his family just to talk to me and stuff like that. I could hear his kids in the back and he said, ‘Hey this is Big Zack,’ and I could hear them in the background laughing. I can tell that he’s really starting a family, so the fact that I can see that he cares as much about his players as he does his family is really what stands out to me because that’s what I’m looking for in a college.”
Owens participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp this past summer. At the time, Robbie Caldwell was still Clemson’s offensive line coach, but Austin was shadowing him. He recalled his “really good” experience, in which both coaches told him he was a very good player.
Owens dominated at the camp and in his own words, he did what he had to do. While he didn’t win every rep, he only lost two during the whole camp.
“They liked how I came back and worked,” he said. “It felt like a home feeling when I went there. They took really good care of me and my teammates. I actually liked how they teach us, so we can go back in, bring what they taught us into our actual game, which I did throughout the year and the season.”
The moral of the story for Owens across his junior campaign was being able to shed some weight. He was pushing 380 pounds and was able to get down to about 350.
“I took what they taught me at the camp, every little fine detail they gave me at the camp, I just put it in my game and it paid off,” Owens added.
Owens — a 6-7, 350-pound junior — describes himself as mostly a run-protection type of guy, but he’ll play anywhere on the field where he’s needed. At his stature, Owens is obviously a tackle. He primarily played the right side for Eagles Landing this past season.
As far as a decision timeline is concerned, he would like to be committed prior to the first game of his senior season. He wants to commit to his next home on his grandmother’s birthday, as he prepares to lock in before his final season of high school football.
In addition to Clemson, Owens plays on visiting Florida State, Georgia Southern and Buffalo.
When Owens visits Clemson in just 10 days, he’s looking to get a tour of the campus and see what it would be like to live on campus. He wants to get the full experience and see a day in the life of a college athlete and see what it would be like to be a student-athlete at Clemson.
Of course, he has prior experiences in The Valley, but he’ll get to see a little more behind the scenes this time around.
“It’s a home feeling,” he said of Clemson. “I love South Carolina in general, but the fact that there’s a good college there, speaking of Clemson, I love it. I love everything about the school and the community.”
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