The premier event on Clemson’s summer recruiting calendar arrived today.
With the Tigers holding their annual All In Cookout beginning this afternoon, The Clemson Insider wanted to pass along an update regarding some of what we have gathered about the cookout as of this evening.
Clemson’s commitments comprised the vast majority of cookout attendees, and TCI has confirmed that all of the commits made it in with the exception of three-star tight end Markus Dixon, who was unable to make the trip down from Pennsylvania, as his parents were unable to make the trip.
So that means 16 Clemson pledges made it to the cookout, which is important considering it gives them and their families a great opportunity to continue strengthening their relationships with the Tigers’ coaching staff as well as their fellow commits.
Dabo Swinney and his staff are as good as it gets when it comes to keeping prospects on board once they’re already committed, and the All In Cookout — with its laid-back, relaxed atmosphere that allows for close bonding — always helps the Tigers do just that.
With that said, there are a couple of uncommitted recruits at the cookout, as well: Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star safety Robert Billings and Stockbridge (Ga.) three-star cornerback Shelton Lewis.
Lewis, who was previously committed to the University of Pittsburgh for 22 days last month, announced an offer from Clemson via social media this evening.
Clemson has three scholarship spots open for the cornerback position in the class of 2023. The Tigers have already filled two of those spots with the verbal commitments of Avieon Terrell and Branden Strozier. That leaves one spot remaining for a fellow Peach State product in Lewis.
As for Billings, who received an offer from Clemson while on campus for the program’s “spring elite day” back on March 5, he returned to Tiger Town for an official visit from June 3-5 and that visit only further confirmed how he feels about the program.
The first time he visited Clemson, he got a good grasp of things, but the official visit put things over the top, as the Peach State safety got to see what the Clemson program is all about.
“They just preached family,” Billings said in an interview with TCI following the official visit. “It really felt like a family. It felt like home. Coach Swinney, he really likes his former players. He has 28 former players on his staff. He takes care of the guys who got their degrees and tries and put them into the program. They really preach education, get your degree and graduate.”
The cookout has only helped Clemson’s cause with Billings, as well as Lewis, and we believe the forecast for those two prospects is sunny when it comes to the Tigers’ chances of adding them to the 2023 class.
Regarding Lewis, TCI was told by a trusted source that UNC feels Clemson is going to land Lewis.
All in all, from everything we’ve heard, the All In Cookout has been a hit once again this year and everyone seems to have enjoyed their time at it. One of Clemson’s five-star commits told TCI that the cookout “went great” and was a “really fun day.”
A couple of the cookout activities included a Wiffle Ball home run derby, dodgeball, and trivia, and the recruits put the purple jerseys on for a three-hour photoshoot.
Stay tuned to TCI as we’ll have returns from some of the cookout visitors in the coming days.
Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center. Clemson returns one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
