Among the headlining visitors in attendance for Clemson’s Elite Junior Day, last Saturday was Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) four-star Avieon Terrell, the No. 15 cornerback in the 2023 class, according to Rivals.
Terrell (6-0, 170) recently spoke with The Clemson Insider about his experience on campus this past weekend. It was his first time back in The Valley in nearly a year.
“The junior day visit was good,” Terrell said. “It felt like a family atmosphere down there. Good coaching staff and a good culture.”
What was the highlight of Terrell’s return visit to The Valley?
“Dabo talking to us,” he added,” just them taking us around the campus and everything. Everything was smooth. That was a great [speech] he gave. Shoot, it was three hours. That was great.”
Obviously, being the younger brother of a former Clemson standout, Terrell is quite familiar with what Clemson’s culture entails. Every time he steps back on campus, he’s automatically hit with that family feeling. It’s not an on-off switch, rather it just speaks to what Dabo Swinney and his staff have built.
A key member of Swinney’s staff, Mike Reed, who is now Clemson’s assistant head coach, in addition to duties as cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator, has served as Terrell’s primary recruiter from the get-go.
“He was just saying that it’s all love, even if I go somewhere else it’s all love,” Avieon said of Reed’s message to him. “But, Clemson’s definitely at the top one of my schools and he was just saying how he could use me in their defense.”
Terrell, of course, is the younger brother of former Clemson and current Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell.
According to Avieon, if he were to come to Clemson, Reed told him that first and foremost, he would use him as a man-coverage cornerback. He indicated that that was the most important thing he heard all weekend.
The way A.J. developed under Reed’s tutelage is something that clearly sticks with Avieon. Aveion said that Clemson will always be on his mind because of the way his brother developed under Reed and the way they’ve treated his family from the moment his older brother stepped on campus.
How did the Terrell family enjoy the visit?
“They definitely felt great about it,” Aveion said. “We always used to be up there. We haven’t been there in a year and they started reminiscing about everything. So, they like it.”
Clemson certainly helped themselves during Avieon’s Elite Junior Day visit.
“Yes for sure,” he said. “They definitely did.”
He was one of two cornerbacks on campus, the other being Coppell (Texas) four-star cornerback Braxton Myers, who was recently offered by the Tigers last month.
Avieon felt that Clemson only having 19 prospects on campus for its junior day was “cool’ and “unique.” It was only him and Myers in the meeting room and they talked with Reed and went over how the Tigers run their defense and everything.
As far as his recruitment is concerned, Avieon doesn’t have a No. 1 school right now. He wants to take other visits and let the process play out. He isn’t pressed to make a decision anytime soon and feels like he’ll know when he’s ultimately ready.
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