It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report. We hope everyone had a great weekend.
More official visitors on tap
Over the weekend, The Clemson Insider was able to confirm two more official visitors for the weekend of June 3-5.
Westlake (Texas) four-star edge rusher Colton Vasek and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Cambridge, Mass.) four-star athlete Ronan Hanafin both confirmed their plans to officially visit Clemson via text messages with TCI.
Vasek — a former high school teammate of freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik — was on Clemson’s campus on Monday, March 14 for an unofficial visit and subsequently left town with a scholarship offer in hand.
“When I got offered, it meant a lot,” Vasek said. “Coach Swinney, they don’t offer a ton of people. They offer the fewest number of people in college football. It takes a lot more than being a good football player to be able to play there and for them to offer me, it really meant a lot.”
Where does Clemson currently stand in his recruitment?
Vasek indicated that the Tigers are definitely up there. He referenced how 247Sports’ recruiting services sometimes have certain programs on a prospect’s list of schools listed as “warm” and that’s pretty much how Clemson is with him. Vasek already can’t wait to get up there.
“I would go as far as saying that this is probably my favorite visit I’ve been on out of all the schools I’ve visited so far,” he said.
As for Hanafin, he would make his way to campus over two weeks later. He had been in contact with Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham prior to his visit and left feeling like he was a part of the Clemson family.
Clemson wants Hanafin to continue to be a part of the family, as the Tigers presented him with a scholarship offer. After practice, he and his family got back to the facilities and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney invited Hanafin into his office.
“We had a great conversation,” he said, “and at the end, he wanted to make it clear how few players they offer. He thought I was a great fit for the program, so he offered me a scholarship.”
5-star pass-rusher planning to visit this summer
TCI recently checked in on Platte County (Platte City, Mo.) five-star edge rusher Chandavian Bradley, who told us that he’s still planning out his summer visits, but is aiming to visit Clemson during the first week of June.
There is certainly mutual interest between Clemson and Bradley. That was especially true when he included the Tigers in his top-10 schools, even without an offer.
Bradley has talked with defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall about a potential offer. He knows that Clemson will eventually present him with a scholarship offer, but first and foremost, they would like to get him on campus first. Bradley has been made aware of how the Tigers like to do things and understands through some of his recruiting contacts that they’re certainly a program that likes to offer in-person.
Bradley (6-6, 215) currently ranks as the No. 4 edge rusher and the nation’s No. 28 overall prospect for the class of 2023, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Clemson, Notre Dame battling for another O-lineman
As we reported in last week’s edition of The Insider Report, Notre Dame appears to be in prime position to land a commitment from one of Clemson’s offensive line targets in the 2023 class — South Point High School (Belmont, N.C.) four-star Sullivan Absher — following his extended stay at Notre Dame two weekends ago.
Clemson O-line target Sam Pendleton of Reagan High School (Pfafftown, N.C.) committed to Notre Dame last Monday, and there’s another O-lineman that both the Tigers and Fighting Irish have been heavily involved with – Oceanside Collegiate Academy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) four-star Monroe Freeling.
Freeling made his way to campus for Clemson’s second junior day of the year on Saturday, March 5, and he spent several days at Notre Dame two weeks ago in conjunction with its Blue-Gold Game.
Per a source, Freeling and Absher spent a lot of time together when they were both on campus at Notre Dame, and they went out to dinner with each other as well as Irish offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and offensive recruiting coordinator Dre Brown. Freeling and Absher saw each other at Clemson a few months ago as well and are building a bond with one another.
Hiestand has done a good job of recruiting Freeling, gaining his trust, and Notre Dame certainly helped itself with Freeling during his visit to South Bend.
Clemson was the perceived leader in the clubhouse for Freeling following his trip to Tiger Town in March. Did Notre Dame do enough to get back in the mix with his visit there?
“Yeah, for sure,” he said.
Elite Alabama WR looking to visit
TCI recently caught up with a top receiver prospect in the class of 2024, who has been drawing attention from Clemson and Tyler Grisham.
Clay-Chalkville (Pinson, Ala.) four-star Mario Craver — a 5-foot-10, 160-pound sophomore in the class of 2024 — is planning to visit Tiger Town this summer. He’s not sure if he’ll camp at Clemson, but a visit is certainly in the cards.
“I’ve only been talking to Coach Grisham,” Craver said. “He told me that I was definitely an ‘offer guy,’ but Coach Swinney would like to build a relationship and he takes his recruiting really slowly because they’ve only offered (two) ’24s. He was like if he gets me on campus, it would be hard for Coach Swinney to deny.”
What would it mean for him to earn an offer from Clemson?
“It would be special,” he said, “Like I said, only (two) people in the country got ’em or in the world has it? Yeah, that would definitely be special.”
Craver currently ranks as the No. 30 wide receiver and the nation’s No. 172 prospect for the class of 2024, according to 247Sports.
Highly touted WR growing bond with Grisham, planning to camp this summer
We wanted to pass along the latest on another highly regarded wide receiver who remains firmly on Tyler Grisham’s recruiting radar.
Milton (Ga.) High School four-star Debron Gatling – the No. 10 wide receiver and a top-100 national prospect (No. 90 overall) in the 2024 class, per Rivals – continues to stay in touch and strengthen his relationship with Clemson’s receivers coach.
“Definitely,” Gatling told TCI when asked if his bond with Grisham is growing tighter. “I feel like I can just talk to him like he’s one of boys. We just have a real good conversation. Ain’t no nervousness or nothing like that.”
Gatling (6-2, 185) most recently visited Clemson on March 12, when he — and his mother — came away very impressed by the unofficial visit.
“My mom loved it,” Gatling said to TCI after the visit. “She said she really liked it, and she really liked Coach Swinney and Coach Grisham.”
Gatling participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last summer and told TCI he plans to compete at the camp again this June in hopes of earning an offer from the Tigers. His loaded offer list currently features schools such as Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas, Miami, Florida State, Michigan, Penn State and Oregon.
In addition to Clemson, Gatling’s offseason visits thus far have included UCF, Ole Miss, Miami, Alabama and Southern Cal. He’s looking to check out schools like Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Tennessee, Penn State and Florida this summer, along with getting back to Clemson and Alabama.
According to Gatling, Miami, Ole Miss and Tennessee are a few of the schools coming after him the hardest right now, while Alabama has been keeping in contact with him even though the Crimson Tide haven’t yet offered, and he said Clemson is “definitely” up there as far as the schools showing the most interest although the Tigers haven’t yet offered either.
If Clemson comes into the mix with an offer moving forward, it will be a strong contender for Gatling’s services.
“They pull the trigger, I definitely think they’d be one of my top schools,” he said. “I definitely think they’d be one of my top schools if they pull the trigger.”
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