Among the participants at the Dabo Swinney Camp next Thursday, June 2, will be a local product, who projects as a wide receiver/tight end.
While Greenville (S.C.) High School’s Mac McLean is a household name just yet, that could change after this summer. He’s a talented athlete without the film to go with it, but he’s also ready to prove himself on the camp circuit this summer.
The Clemson Insider recently caught up with McLean, who signed up to participate in Swinney Camp next week on his own accord. As a life-long Clemson fan, who has had multiple family members attend the University, McLean is more than ready to prove to the coaching staff that he belongs.
“It’s going to mean a lot,” he said. “I’m definitely going to bed early the night before, so I’m ready for camp. I’m gonna give it my all, go hard every rep and definitely talk to all the coaches I can.”
McLean (6-2, 190) envisions that he’ll work out with the wide receivers and Tyler Grisham when he partakes in Swinney Camp next week. While he asked that we label him as a tight end, McLean understands that there likely won’t be a lot of live blocking and that it would probably behoove him to work out at receiver on the camp circuit.
In addition to Clemson, McLean has been invited to camp at Liberty, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and the Old Dominion mega camp, to name a few. McLean told us that he’ll be at Wofford on June 5 and Furman on June 25. He’s also looking to camp at the University of South Carolina this summer.
McLean’s upcoming junior season will be critical for his recruitment going forward. It’s all about him putting together a full season’s worth of film. Rather than getting a chance to start on Greenville’s JV team last season, McLean elected to forego significant playing time and learn from one of the best tight ends in the Palmetto State.
This past season, McLean backed up Clemson’s three-star tight end signee, Josh Sapp.
“I know he didn’t commit to Clemson until the end of our regular season,” McLean said, “but I knew he was gonna end up at a D1 school. I didn’t want to leave that. I had to take that chance.”
“Last year I was soaking up all the information, just watching him practice and learning everything I can,” he continued. “We also got Mazeo Bennett and Tyler Brown — two great receivers. So, I’m just learning from them and doing my best.”
Having the opportunity to learn from a player like Sapp provided McLean with invaluable experience. McLean would watch how Sapp ran his routes in practice and tries to model his game after the Clemson legacy recruit.
“It’s a blessing to be behind such a great player and Greenville (High School), we have a ton of great players and our offense last year was amazing,” McLean said.
McLean is a natural in the classroom, as he owns a 4.0 GPA, but he’s also a natural athlete.
“I’m hardworking and I’m never gonna quit,” he said when asked to describe himself as a player. “You’re gonna get the best of me every rep, even if we’re down by 20. I’m always going to go at it.”
Greenville has had 50-plus schools stop by during spring practice. McLean said that his head coach, Greg Porter, told teams that inquired about him, that the rising tight end just needs a full season of film under his belt.
— Photo for this article courtesy of Mac McLean.
