Dabo Swinney is no longer the only coach on Clemson’s football staff with a family member on the team.
Brodey Conn, the son of co-defensive coordinator Mickey Conn, is set to join the program as a walk-on this fall. The younger Conn just wrapped up his prep career at nearby D.W. Daniel High, where he helped the Lions capture their second straight state championship.
“We’re really excited about it,” Mickey said during Clemson’s national signing day radio show earlier this month.
A two-sport standout, Brodey also hopes to walk on the baseball team at Clemson. He was committed to play baseball at TCU for a year and a half before taking an official visit to Clemson in December. Brodey officially changed his mind earlier this month during the traditional signing period for the 2022 recruiting cycle.
“Glad that he’s got the opportunity, and we’re glad we don’t have to drive to Texas every weekend to watch him play baseball,” Mickey said. “We’re really excited about him being a Tiger.”
Brodey was recruited to the football team as a punter, but Mickey said his son might also get a look at safety, a position Brodey played in high school. That would give Mickey a chance to personally coach Brodey if it happens. Mickey, who had the co-coordinator title added once Brent Venables left for Oklahoma, has spent the last five seasons coaching Clemson’s safeties.
Of course, planning to play multiple sports in college and actually doing it are two different things. If he ends up playing baseball, too, Brodey would be a left-handed hitting catcher, Mickey said.
“Right now, (the plan) is just to get him over here and see what he can do,” Mickey said. “See where he can win a spot and play, but he’s going to try to do both.”
Brodey’s addition gives Clemson another father-son duo within the program. Swinney’s oldest son, Will, has exhausted his eligibility, but his other two, Drew and Clay, an incoming freshman walk-on, are on the roster for next season.
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