Clemson recently played host to a standout local prospect in the 2023 class who has seen interest from the Tigers ramp up of late.
Daniel High School (Central, S.C.) cornerback Misun Kelley returned to campus as an unofficial visitor for the Tigers’ “spring elite day” – their second junior day of the year – on Saturday, March 5.
Kelley, who also made a couple of unofficial visits to Clemson on game days last season after competing at the Dabo Swinney Camp last summer, came away impressed after his latest experience around Swinney’s program.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” Kelley said to The Clemson Insider. “I got to talk to the coaches a lot. I like how Dabo runs things there. He runs it in like a special, unique way instead of just how everybody else runs it. You can tell it’s just different.”
Kelley (5-11.5, 175) had the chance to speak a little bit with Swinney, who let Kelley know that he has been keeping tabs on him.
“He just told me to keep working, how he’s always staying in touch with me,” Kelley said of what he heard the Tigers’ head coach. “Just keep working, keep grinding.”
While on campus, of all the coaches, Kelley spent the most time with Mike Reed.
“It wasn’t really about football, honestly,” Kelley said of his conversations with Clemson’s cornerbacks coach. “He was just talking to me about how he wants his players to be as people instead of only as football players. He talked about how they like to run defense or how he likes his corners to play, like he likes his corners to tackle and stuff.”
Kelley was accompanied on the visit by a couple of friends along with family members, including his mother, who was impressed by the visit as well.
“My mom was like how she loved how they run things, how they actually care about players instead of just offering people (based on their) skill set,” Kelley said. “A lot of schools offer people just for like how good they are, they don’t really care about them as people.”
The highlight of the visit experience for Kelley was the photoshoot, during which he and other recruits got to take pictures in Clemson uniforms.
“It’s just crazy to me kind of because I live right down the road, and I’ve always dreamed of putting the uniforms on,” he said.
Asked what it would mean to him to receive an offer from Clemson – and have the chance to actually suit up for the Tigers on the field in the future – the talented local corner couldn’t put it into words.
“Words probably couldn’t even explain how I’d feel. I think I’d feel so elated,” he said. “I can’t even explain into words how crazy and amazing that would be.”
Kelley visited Georgia Tech on March 12 and is planning to visit schools such as East Carolina, Houston and Coastal Carolina.
East Carolina and Coastal Carolina have offered Kelley, along with Louisville, Appalachian State, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, Georgia State, Old Dominion and James Madison.
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