It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report.
We hope everyone had a great weekend.
More details on Monday’s big commitment
After speaking with Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) four-star cornerback Avieon Terrell this afternoon, we have some more details on a commitment that was more than a couple of years in the making.
“The family atmosphere,” Terrell said when asked why he chose Clemson over schools like Auburn, Kentucky, Michigan State and Texas A&M. “It felt like family up there. I couldn’t really build other relationships like I could at Clemson. Everything was smooth up there.”
With his commitment, Terrell became the fifth member of Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class, joining fellow cornerback and another Peach State native in St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star Branden Strozier.
There’s already a relationship there as Terrell told us that he and Strozier train together.
Terrell is not planning on being an early enrollee. So when he arrives on campus about a year from now, what can Clemson fans expect out of him?
“A dog. A humble beast. A leader. A vocal leader, all that,” he said. “Respectful. Lit. Turnt.”
While Terrell was not at Clemson’s official visit weekend from June 3-5, The Clemson Insider learned that he will instead be taking his official visit for the South Carolina game on Nov. 26.
Vizzina details official visit experience
The Clemson Insider caught up with Briarwood Christian (Alabama) four-star quarterback commit Christopher Vizzina, who detailed this past weekend’s official visit in an interview Monday.
“I knew it was going to be a fun weekend going in, but we were all blown away about how much fun we had and just the experience it was,” Vizzina said. “I think we really opened a lot of people’s eyes. The certain things that Coach Swinney says, he always has those long speeches, but he really elaborates on everything. Walking out, of course, I know what he’s all about, but the people that haven’t been there that many times walked away knowing what he really believes and everything.”
Vizzina is in agreement with St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star cornerback commit Branden Strozier, who told us yesterday that he believes the 2023 class is “about to heat up.”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “Like I said, I think this opened a lot of people’s eyes. I think after this weekend we should add some guys.”
Vizzina got a chance to put on his recruiting cap this weekend and really recruit some guys in person. A lot of that groundwork has happened through texting and over social media and whatnot, but this past weekend’s official visit allowed for him to do more of that and then some in person.
“That was one of my favorite things,” Vizzina said. “All the guys there were guys I’ve been texting throughout the past two months after I committed. Just getting to know them on text was cool, but to really hang out with these guys and get to know them off the field, that was one of the best things.”
Clemson’s staff views Vizzina as the leader of this class.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney brought Vizzina into his office on Friday.
“He sat me down and told me everyone that’s here, what they look like, where they’re from, what position, how many spots we have for that position and the people that he thought were really close,” Vizzina said. “I know that he thinks of me as the leader of the class and he knows I’m gonna give my best effort to get everybody we need.”
What does that mean to Vizzina?
“Me and him talk all the time about just all the recruiting things,” Vizzina continued. “Like I said, we talked about who is close and everything. I think he trusts me to really get on some guys, but really recruit them while we were hanging out. That’s what I wanted too. When I committed, I told everybody that I wanted to be the leader of the class.”
Vizzina informed us that a group chat was created for the 31 official visitors and everyone was pretty active in it, which he said made it that much more fun when they all got to meet each other in person.
“That group chat set the tone for the whole visit,” he said.
Vizzina is confident that Clemson should be adding some guys after this weekend.
5-star pass rusher talks Clemson offer
When Clemson formally turned the page to offering prospects in the 2024 class on Wednesday and started doling out offers to rising junior recruits, one of the first to report an offer from the Tigers was Buford (Ga.) 2024 five-star edge rusher Eddrick Houston.
“It was crazy for them to offer me this early,” Houston told The Clemson Insider on Sunday, regarding receiving the offer. “I was just amazed that my hard work paid off to get an early offer from them.
The nation’s No. 28 overall prospect in his class, per the 247Sports Composite, Houston announced the offer from the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon following a conversation with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.
Houston was on campus with his teammate KJ Bolden, a fellow five-star and the nation’s No. 1 athlete in the class of 2024.
“We both got it at the same time and it was like the last offer we both wanted,” Houston said.
“We know how hard it is to get an offer from Clemson and we were both excited when we heard the news. We couldn’t hold in our smiles, especially after we got an offer from Clemson.”
More on a Cincinnati commit who impressed at Swinney Camp
One of the most impressive wide receivers during the first two days of Dabo Swinney Camp this past week was Powell (TN.) 2023 three-star Ayden Greene.
And while Greene committed to the University of Cincinnati on his official visit this past weekend, we still wanted to pass along some updates on where Clemson stands with the impressive wideout.
The rising Volunteer State wideout impressed, as he was out to prove himself. His route running ability immediately jumped off the page, as well as his sure hands, as he was catching passes from some of the most talented signal-callers in the nation.
“It was great,” Greene told The Clemson Insider regarding his experience at Wednesday’s Swinney Camp. “I heard many things from Coach (Tyler) Grisham. He helped me critique things in my route running that will take my game to another level.”
According to Greene, Grisham said that he performed “great” and that Clemson’s wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator will be in touch. This weekend, the Tigers hosted four wide receivers in the 2023 class on their official visits, including Edison (Miami, Fla.) four-star commit Nathaniel Joseph.
Generally speaking, if Clemson offers a recruit, it wants that offer to be committable. Though, Clemson did hand out an offer to Rockwall (TX.) four-star WR Noble Johnson, after he participated in the afternoon session of Thursday’s Swinney Camp.
When we spoke to Greene prior to him camping at Clemson, we asked him what it would mean to get a potential offer from a school like Clemson.
“It would mean a whole lot to me and my family,” Greene said at the time. “I don’t necessarily have a favorite team. I’ve never grown up having a favorite team or anything, but Clemson has always been somebody that I’ve kept up with, I’ve watched, I’ve always had an interest in…Me and my family, it’s always been a bucket list offer to get. It’d be pretty major.”
Heading into Wednesday, Greene was hopeful that he would leave with an offer, but he also wanted to leave feeling confident about what he showed he was capable of to Grisham
“I feel like I did great,” he said afterward. “I went my hardest and I left feeling good about it.”
When we asked Greene if he had discussed a potential offer with Clemson during his camp visit, he told us, “Time will tell.”
“I loved Clemson,” Greene added. “It’s (an) even better place than I thought it would be.”
For all intents and purposes, these interview(s) with Greene were conducted before he announced his commitment on Saturday.
Rising Peach State OL talks Swinney Camp experience
This big offensive lineman from the Peach State, who recently participated in Day 2 of the Dabo Swinney Camp, has seen his recruitment blow up over the past month.
Gabriel Fortson received his first offer from Georgia Tech on May 2. Between then and May 19, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising senior from North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) racked up 18 more offers, including ACC and SEC offers from North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri.
Fortson participated in Thursday’s Swinney Camo and detailed his experience with The Clemson Insider. Forston also provided some of the feedback that received from Thomas Austin.
“He liked the way that I’m physical off the ball,” Fortson said of Clemson’s offensive line coach. “He said that I have great feet. He likes the way my hips move and everything.”
“He loved everything about me at camp,” Fortson continued. “He said he’ll give me a call within a couple of weeks or so and follow backup and things like that.”
What would it mean to Fortson if Clemson pulled the trigger on a potential scholarship offer?
“It’d mean a lot,” he said. “It’d immediately be one of my top schools in the list…I’d love to be a part of it.”
Staff Writer Gavin Oliver contributed to this week’s edition of The Insider Report.
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