Tag: CJ Spiller

RB target ‘loved’ first Clemson visit, ‘looking forward’ to official

The Clemson Insider caught up with a recently offered Clemson running back target ahead of his upcoming official visit to Tiger Town. Jamarius Haynes, a class of 2023 standout from Handley High School (Roanoke, Ala.), is set to officially visit …

The Clemson Insider caught up with a recently offered Clemson running back target ahead of his upcoming official visit to Tiger Town.

Jamarius Haynes, a class of 2023 standout from Handley High School (Roanoke, Ala.), is set to officially visit Clemson for the South Carolina game on Nov. 26.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” he told TCI. “I can’t wait for it because I loved Clemson the first time that I came up there. So, I’m looking forward to it.”

The 6-foot, 180-pound senior made his first-ever trip to Clemson for the Syracuse game on Oct. 22, when he picked up an offer from the Tigers.

“I like the environment, just the whole entire environment itself,” he said regarding his experience on the unofficial visit. “The fans stood out a lot to me when we got there. When a bad play happens, none of the fans threw a negative comment. Everybody was all positive.”

Haynes again pointed to the Tiger faithful as what stood out most to him from his time on campus.

“It goes back to the fans,” he said. “When we first got there, you’ve got the fans that’s out and grilling and stuff. All the fans, everybody was having fun, getting ready for the game. Just good intentions everywhere.”

Haynes has been staying in contact with Clemson running backs coach C.J. Spiller, who traveled to see Haynes play in his Class 4A second-round playoff game against T.R. Miller (Brewton, Ala.) this past Friday – when he put on a show, rushing for 231 yards and scoring four touchdowns in a 27-14 win.

“He’s just basically been telling me to make sure I keep balling and keep academics right, make sure my head’s in the right mind to get ready to play at the next level,” Haynes said of what he’s been hearing from Spiller.

Haynes called his relationship with Spiller a “very close” one, bringing up a moment from their time together during the Syracuse game visit that left a big impression on him and strengthened their bond.

“After the game we took a visit, we had a bunch of good conversations while I was touring the school and everything,” Haynes said. “He took the time out while we were waiting for something to come up. I’ve got a younger brother, he was playing with my brother. So, that built up our connection with each other by a lot, to see that he likes to play around with my little brother and stuff.”

As for Dabo Swinney, Haynes had the chance to catch up with Clemson’s head coach over the phone last week.

“He was just telling me that he really liked me, he watched my film,” Haynes said. “He was happy that I was able to make it up there to the game that I did, and he said he was going to keep in touch with me.”

Haynes, who has received offers from Washington State and Western Kentucky since Clemson offered, is planning right now to sign during the early signing period.

What will the school that lands his signature be getting in him as a running back?

“I feel like I’ll be a great running back,” he said. “If a team loves their scheme for running off speed, I’ll be a great fit. But my ability to make plays happen when nothing’s there, my ability to make plays.”

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Clemson football all-time roster: Offensive starters and backups

See which legends made the cut in our all-time Clemson football roster, starting with the offensive starters and backups.

A program with a long, rich history, Clemson has seen a lot of great teams with a lot of incredible talent over the years as the program has developed into a marquee name in college football.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers have had some exceptional players who have helped Clemson achieve greatness. From the freshman who led his team to a national championship in Trevor Lawrence to Jerry Butler and “The Catch,” Clemson has seen some remarkable offensive talents come through the program.

Becoming a premier program more recently under current head coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson has seen many of the program’s best offensive talent suit up for the Tigers in the past couple of decades.

Wondering what an all-time Clemson roster would look like? We’ve got you covered! Clemson Wire and the rest of our College Wire sites recently put together our all-time program rosters.

Here’s a look at our choices for the offensive starters and backups on Clemson football’s all-time roster:

You’ve got mail: TCI answers your recruiting questions

The Clemson Insider has decided to take a relatively old concept and put a new spin on it. As we already introduced on our message board, TCI will field weekly recruiting mailbag questions, which will be answered in an article format. We’ll choose …

The Clemson Insider has decided to take a relatively old concept and put a new spin on it. As we already introduced on our message board, TCI will field weekly recruiting mailbag questions, which will be answered in an article format. We’ll choose questions to answer and provide you with the most relevant information regarding Clemson recruiting.

Without further ado, we took a crack at answering some of your mailbag questions. It should be noted that the questions have been edited for clarity.

Q: Have we moved on from (Monroe) Freeling? Has he moved on from Clemson?

Clemson is no longer at the forefront of Monroe Freeling’s recruitment. For a while, the Tigers seemed to be the perceived favorite to land the Oceanside Collegiate Academy product, but as we know, things are fluid in recruiting.

To no fault of his own, Freeling was unable to make Clemson’s official visit weekend. It was his parents’ anniversary the weekend of June 3 and it unfortunately just didn’t work out with his schedule. That paved the way for the trio of Vandegrift (Texas) four-star Ian Reed, Permian (Texas) four-star Harris Sewell and Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (Georgia) four-star Zechariah Owens to verbally pledge to Dabo Swinney’s program in the coming weeks.

While Clemson is set with taking three offensive linemen in the class of 2023, there’s been chatter that Thomas Austin could possibly take a fourth commit. Whether that would be Freeling hinges on a couple of things, but as of August, the likelihood that he’ll end up at Clemson has grown increasingly unlikely.

We know Clemson really likes the prospect, as Swinney and Co. have attended his basketball games and such, but that arrow that was once pointed at Clemson and since trended in another direction. 

Freeling has made official visits to Notre Dame, Miami and Florida. Whether Freeling takes those remaining two officials remains to be seen, but the teams most heavily involved appear to be the latter programs mentioned, as well as Alabama and Georgia.

Q: Any traction with any RB?

It goes without saying, that Clemson continues to evaluate its options at the running back position. 

A name that I’ve heard in some circles is Heights High (Kansas) four-star John Randle II. While he’s ranked as the No. 20 running back in the nation, per the 247Sports composite, you’re looking at a player whose recruitment is still waiting to take off.

I don’t know how much traction Clemson has with Randle if any, but he’s a name worth monitoring as he heads into his senior season.

Q: How many more do you think we’ll take before we shut it down?

This is always a fun question.

After Ronan Hanafin and Shelton Lewis committed last week, Clemson is now up to 20 total verbal commitments.

My best guess would be two or three more prospects, which would put Clemson’s class at either 22 or 23 commitments. Anything can happen between now and then, whether a player enters the transfer portal or decides to step away from the game like Landen Zanders did earlier this month.

As we know, these things tend to be fluid. That’s not to say that I expect a Clemson player to enter the transfer portal or anything of that nature. More so, we’d be naive to assume that the ever-changing landscape doesn’t affect roster turnover and the number of scholarship players that a program like Clemson has to work with at any given time.

Q: What are the biggest needs now?

Running back. Point blank.

While Clemson recently placed Domonique Thomas on scholarship, it’s worth noting that Keith Adams, Jr. is the last running back to commit to Clemson since Will Shipley did so on May 5, 2020. It’s a position that Clemson hasn’t had much success with on the recruiting trail as of late, just barely missing out on the likes of Trevor Etienne (Florida), Andrew Paul (Georgia) and Jeremiah Cobb (Auburn),

From what we’ve heard regarding CJ Spiller — he’s a good coach with the necessary recruiting chops. Clemson’s lack of movement at the position on the trail shouldn’t be an indictment of who he is as a coach. As we previously mentioned, Spiller did a nice job of identifying a guy like Paul, who was one of the best high school backs in the state of Texas.

Q: Any traction with Tomarrion Parker and a visit for the season?

Yes!

I answered this on our message board, but for our readers who didn’t get a chance to see this, Clemson has a lot of traction with Tomarrion Parker. The four-star defensive end out of Central (Alabama) is eyeing an official date of Oct. 22, which would be the weekend that Clemson plays host to Syracuse at Memorial Stadium.

There is mutual interest here, as Parker wants to take a long, extended look at Clemson, now that the Tigers have extended an offer.

More on Parker here: 

Newly offered 4-star Alabama DE dishes on Clemson offer, talks official visit plans

Q: Are we done at WR with the Ronan (Hanafin) commitment or will we continue to push for Tyler Williams to sway him away from the Dawgs?

As of now, Clemson is only planning to take two wide receivers in the class of 2023 and some pretty good ones at that. With Sunday’s commitment, Buckingham & Browne (Massachusetts) four-star wide receiver Ronan Hanafin joined Rockwall (Texas) four-star Noble Johnson, as the two receivers that Clemson will be taking in this class.

Earlier this year, some prospects informed TCI that Clemson was looking to add up to three wide receivers in this class because it was likely going to be losing a number of wideouts after the 2022 season. It’s entirely possible that Clemson’s thinking has changed since the end of January.

That would make Clemson an unlikely suitor for Lakeland (Florida) four-star Tyler Williams, but my hunch is that has more to do with his recruitment trending in the direction of Georgia and less to do with numbers. Williams sent a commitment date of Sept. 27 and will pick between Clemson, Georgia, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Williams has one official visit remaining and with a month and change until he renders a college decision, the University of Miami is rumored to be pushing for him to take his final visit to Coral Gables.

Clemson hosted Williams during the program’s official visit weekend from June 3-5. From what we gathered, Williams mostly kept to himself during the weekend’s festivities. That’s not a knock on Williams, who has spoken very highly of Clemson in the interviews he’s done in the past, but rather an observation from a source that we wanted to pass along.

Many in the industry have Williams pegged as a Georgia guy, but that remains to be seen, as other programs continue to push for his commitment. I just wouldn’t expect him to land at Clemson at this time.

Q: Next possible verbal?

I’m not going to make any projections at the moment, but the next possible commitment in terms of announcement timing is North Gwinnett (Georgia) four-star defensive lineman Kayden McDonald. The expectation is that he’ll be taking an official visit to Clemson sometime this fall.

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Freshman running back says he’s ‘loving it down here at Clemson,’ can’t wait to hit the field

Keith Adams, Jr. is his own person. While he’s following in his father’s footsteps at Clemson, he’s going to be a trendsetter. Instead of rocking his dad’s No. 43, which is a little bit more of a running back number, Adams is going with No. 19 and …

Keith Adams, Jr. is his own person.

While he’s following in his father’s footsteps at Clemson, he’s going to be a trendsetter. Instead of rocking his dad’s No. 43, which is a little bit more of a running back number, Adams is going with No. 19 and he’s going to stick to it.

“Everything’s been good,” Adams told The Clemson Insider during an NIL collective appearance in Clemson Sunday. “Getting together with a whole new team, brand new people to meet, I’m loving it down here at Clemson. The Clemson family is the No. 1 football family. I’m just excited to get on the field and play together.”

While Adams won’t have a chance to directly work with CJ Spiller until fall camp rolls around come Friday, Aug. 5, he’s soaking up as much information as he can from

“All the running backs who are older than me, they’re just teaching me everything,” Adams said. “I’m learning from them. I’m being patient. I’m just enjoying the process of becoming a better running back, a better teammate and a better player. These guys are molding me to be the best player I can be on the field and off the field. They’re great leaders and I love them.”

“From Will Shipley to Phil Mafah, Kobe Pace and all the other running backs, they’re all supportive of each other,” Adams continued. “We’re teammates and we don’t care who’s on the field or who’s off the field, we support each other like we would with anyone else.”

The adjustment period for Adams didn’t take long. He felt like Clemson was home more than anything because he’s comfortable being in Tiger Town. He’s always enjoyed his time at Clemson since he started participating in the camps dating back to the third grade.

It’s nothing new to Adams, he’s just enjoying the process. Both Spiller and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney have welcomed him with open arms since he arrived on campus.

“Coach Spiller has been amazing,” Adams said of Clemson’s running backs coach. “He’s a great coach. Obviously, he’s been at the highest level, so I can learn a lot from him. He has all the experience. I’m just learning it all at this point. I’m taking it all in. I’m like a sponge.”

According to Adams, the messaging since he arrived on campus has been around the lines of learning the playbook and staying ready. He’s gonna take his time and be patient, but whenever that opportunity comes, he’ll be ready.

“Will knows I’m ready. All the other running backs know I’m ready,” he said. “They’re trying to prepare me to be ready because I think they know that I’m gonna get that opportunity. I’m just being patient and I’m waiting for everybody.”

Adams admits that he pretty much always seeks out Shipley’s advice or guidance when he has questions regarding the playbook.

“It’s mainly Will Shipley because he’s the hardest on me and I learn the most from him,” Adams said, “because he’s just such a great leader and I appreciate everything that he does. I love (that type of leadership) because I know I’m gonna need it. He’s teaching me how to be a leader and that’s what I need for when everybody else is gone. Because when he’s gone, who’s gonna be the leader? So that’s what I have to put myself in.”

Opportunity to learn from Spiller was ‘great experience’ for all-around Carolinas back

An under-the-radar running back prospect from the Tar Heel State, who is hopeful that his recruitment will start to take off during his senior season, participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last month. Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Collegiate Academy’s Jordan …

An under-the-radar running back prospect from the Tar Heel State, who is hopeful that his recruitment will start to take off during his senior season, participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last month.

Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Collegiate Academy’s Jordan McInnis— a 5-foot-9, 190-pound all-purpose back in the class of 2023 – camped at Clemson on June 1.

“It was a pretty good experience,” McInnis told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Saturday. “It was a pretty great atmosphere. Learning from Coach (CJ) Spiller was a really great experience. He really slowed everything down, broke it down and showed you what it needs to look like, instead of how you see it on a day-to-day basis.”

“Seeing him interact with some of the players that were out there, he brings really good energy to the team,” McInnis added of Spiller. “He seems like one of those coaches that you don’t ever forget about in football. He was very picky in how he wanted everything to look…if you knew it, he wanted it to be perfect. For me, I don’t have an issue with that. I like that type of coaching and that’s the type of coaching that he showed me.”

What type of feedback did McInnis receive from Clemson’s running backs coach?

“He said that I really had great body control, great speed and acceleration,” McInnis said. “The only thing that he said I needed to work on was going full speed and just being patient with the stuff that he showed us.”

Recruiting-wise, Spiller told McInnis to send him his film and that he would get everyone on Clemson’s offensive coaching staff to look at it and go over what the Tigers would do with the Tar Heel State back going forward.

“I think that would be a really big turn for me, considering Clemson was a top school for me all throughout high school,” he said regarding a potential offer from the Tigers. “It was a school that I knew that I could play at, even without being a ranked player in the nation.”

Clemson was definitely different from any of the camps that McInnis went to this summer. He praised the structure and organization of the camp and indicated that Clemson is a place that you “want to be at.”

“It’s a very good atmosphere,” he added.

In addition to Clemson, McInnis found himself at ECU, the University of North Carolina and Furman this summer. Throughout the summer, there wasn’t anything definitive that told McInnis that the schools he visited/camped at weren’t interested in him anymore.

Unfortunately, he’s in the awkward position that the schools that are interested have already thrown most of their offers out to prospects in McInnis’ class. Now, it’s just a waiting game, and McInnis is in a position where he can only control what he can control.

McInnis will wait to see what comes his way during his senior season but mentioned ECU and UNC Charlotte as the two schools showing him the most interest at this point in his recruitment process.

After playing out his high school career at Greensboro (N.C.) Northern Guilford High School, McInnis elected to attend Myrtle Beach Collegiate Academy. He’ll have another season under his belt as he plays for the post-graduate football program based out of Surfside Beach/Garden City (S.C.), as he looks for his recruitment to take off.

“Everything’s going pretty good,” McInnis said when asked about his current recruitment. “I’m waiting to hear back from ECU, Charlotte and Carolina. Hopefully, I can get (an offer) here soon from one of those three schools.”

McInnis describes himself as a “very explosive player.” He’s the type of running back where you want to get the ball in his hands because there’s always the chance that something good will come out of it.

— Photo for this article courtesy of Jordan McInnis.

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Up-and-coming Peach State praises Spiller, talks Swinney Camp experience

An up-and-coming running back prospect from the Peach State, who has recently started to see his recruitment pick up this spring and summer, participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last month. Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy’s Christian Johnson – a …

An up-and-coming running back prospect from the Peach State, who has recently started to see his recruitment pick up this spring and summer, participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last month.

Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy’s Christian Johnson — a 6-foot-2, 203-pound rising junior in the class of 2024 – camped at Clemson on June 2.

“I would say that this camp was definitely the hardest camp that I’ve done,” Johnson told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Friday. “I’d say that I liked it though because it felt like practice and you can actually see what’s going on at Clemson and the drills they’re doing.”

Even though it might’ve been one more difficult camps that Johnson has participated in, the Peach State running back felt like there were a lot of tangible things, like how to keep the ball tucked in, that he was able to take away. Those are things that Johnson knew how to do per se, but at that level, it’s something you have to do constantly.

Johnson spoke highly of CJ Spiller and was appreciative of just how straight up Clemson’s running backs coach was with him. Spiller wasn’t going to lie to Johnson. When he told him what he thought of his game, he was straight up with him. 

With that said, what type of feedback did Johnson receive from Spiller?

“He walked me around the school and he kind of talked to me about it,” Johnson recalled. “He basically said that he had watched my film and he liked it. He said that I was young and that he could tell that there are definitely things that I can still work on. I’m still learning, but he liked where I was at and what I was doing.”

Spiller has yet to dole out an offer to a running back in the class of 2024, so we asked Johnson what it would mean for him to add an offer to his list from a school like Clemson.

“That would be big,” he said regarding a potential scholarship offer. “It would be amazing. (Getting an offer from a) school like that at the ACC would be a big thing for me for sure.”

Johnson added his first offer from the University of South Florida back in January. This past spring, Johnson picked up offers from FAU, Grambling State, Indiana and Arkansas State. When he picked up his first Power Five offer from the Hoosiers, it was right after he was taking his Advanced Placement exam for AP European History. 

Talk about a change in emotions.

“It was definitely a big deal knowing that all the work that I put in during my sophomore year was finally paying off a little bit,” Johnson said.

Additionally, Johnson mentioned that he’s spoken to Georgia Tech’s running backs coach, Mike Daniels, while Duke has also asked him to come by a couple of times. Johnson is hopeful that Sept. 1 will be big for him and his recruitment.

“It’s pretty good,” Johnson said regarding his current recruitment. “I got a couple of offers earlier this school year, so that was pretty cool. I’m just starting my college recruiting off and it’s an experience and I’m liking it — traveling around to schools and doing camps and everything. I’m just excited about my junior year. I got a lot to show, a lot of film and I’m gonna go places this year. It’s gonna be a lot this year, but I’m excited. 

Johnson isn’t your average or normal running back. He’s a self-described downhill runner, who can run the ball play after play and pick up five yards per carry. Johnson is a taller running back, who’s gonna get his shoulders down and do everything he can to help move the chains.

— Photo for this article courtesy of Christian Johnson.

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Newly offered RB talks Clemson offer, says he’s never really met a guy like Spiller

Following Jeremiah Cobb’s commitment to Auburn University, Clemson made the expected move of offering rising senior three-star running back Christopher Johnson, Jr. Johnson, who hails from Fort Lauderdale’s (Fla.) High School told The Clemson …

Following Jeremiah Cobb’s commitment to Auburn University, Clemson made the expected move of offering rising senior three-star running back Christopher Johnson, Jr.

Johnson, who hails from Fort Lauderdale’s (Fla.) High School told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview last week that he knew that the offer was coming, so when running backs coach CJ Spiller phoned him with the good news on Wednesday, July 6, it didn’t come as much of a surprise.

Johnson, who recently included Clemson in his top six schools, which also features Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, was in Tiger Town earlier this summer.

“The campus was lovely,” Johnson said. “That’s probably the best campus I’ve been on. I had a good time with Coach Spiller. He showed me around. I learned a lot while I was up there. I could see myself there.”

Johnson said it felt good getting to meet Clemson’s running backs coach in person. Spiller had been down to Dillard to watch Johnson during the live evaluation period, but this was, obviously, different. 

“You know, I never really met a guy like that,” Johnson said of Spiller. 

Johnson is intrigued by the success that Spiller has had at all levels and the opportunity he would have to learn from a guy like that.

The former Rutgers pledge has seen his recruitment just completely take off since walking back his commitment to the Scarlet Knights. Johnson decommitted from Rutgers on the same day he picked up an offer from the University of Georgia.

In addition to his Clemson offer, he has since added schools like Tennessee, Louisville, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Oregon, Michigan, UCF, Mizzou, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Miami, Florida, Penn State, Jackson State, Utah Ole Miss, N.C. State, North Carolina and Alabama, on his offer list.

He visited all the schools that are in his top six, except for Texas A&M and Florida State.

Johnson said that he will be taking an official visit to Clemson and imagines that might happen for a game day sometime this upcoming season.

Before making his eventual college decision, Johnson told us that he would like to take all five of his official visits, with most of them taking place during the season.

“I wanna go somewhere where I’m gonna produce early,” Johnson said when asked what he’s looking for in a school at the next level. “I want to get on the field right away and I want to have a good relationship with my running backs coach, my head coach and all the position coaches — I want to have a good connection with them. Chemistry is everything, that’s big for me. Having a bond and just being on a winning team.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of @christopherj6_ on Instagram.

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

All-around Georgia back talks about what makes Clemson ‘so different’

Among the running backs who participated in last month’s Dabo Swinney Camp was Dallas (Ga.) North Paulding High School’s Jaylen Poe – a 5-foot-10, 308-pound rising senior in the class of 2023. “That was my second time going to that camp and just …

Among the running backs who participated in last month’s Dabo Swinney Camp was Dallas (Ga.) North Paulding High School’s Jaylen Poe — a 5-foot-10, 308-pound rising senior in the class of 2023.

“That was my second time going to that camp and just like the first, it was a great time to compete and officially meet my recruiting area coach and Coach (CJ) Spiller,” Poe told The Clemson Insider.

Poe felt like he did great at the particular session of Swinney Camp that he participated in and impressed members of the coaching staff, like Spiller, who were able to witness his performance.

Having the chance to work out with and learn from Clemson’s running backs coach, which gave Poe a unique opportunity not only to better himself as a player but to learn about things beyond the game of football, like important aspects of life.

“Coach Spiller, obviously, is an outstanding coach,” Poe said. “However, he taught me more things about life in general than just football, like family connections or bonding.”

As far as a potential scholarship offer goes, Poe says that Clemson didn’t really mention anything in regards to one, but that the Tigers like his athletic ability and would like to keep in touch while getting a better feel for him and his family.

Clemson is certainly high on the North Paulding product’s wishlist.

“Clemson is definitely my favorite school out of all the schools, but it’s not the facility, but the coaches, and that makes them so different,” Poe said.

In addition to Clemson, Poe had the chance to camp at both Virginia and Wake Forest and took visits to all three schools. His recruitment process has been slowly rising, as more schools are starting to show a higher level of interest in him.

“I’m an all-around back,” Poe said when asked to describe himself as a player. “I can catch out of the backfield, run routes, block, get the easy and hard yards. I’m blessed and honored to be in my position.”

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

4-star Georgia RB a big fan of Spiller

A standout running back from the Peach State, who has already collected a handful of Power Five offers, had the chance to showcase his talent at the Dabo Swinney Camp last month. Stockbridge High School (Ga.) four-star running back Jayden “Duke” …

A standout running back from the Peach State, who has already collected a handful of Power Five offers, had the chance to showcase his talent at the Dabo Swinney Camp last month.

Stockbridge High School (Ga.) four-star running back Jayden “Duke” Scott — a 5-foot-10, 203-pound pound rising junior in the class of 2024 – participated in one of the first sessions of the Swinney Camp earlier this summer.

“It went really well,” Scott told The Clemson Insider regarding last month’s Swinney Camp experience. “I had a really good experience, actually. I was able to work with both of my position coaches (CJ Spiller and Andrew Zow) and had a good talk with them. I learned a good bit at camp.”

What was Scott able to hear from both Spiller and Zow?

“I got really good feedback,” he said. “Not only the positives from my game but also just some little things to work on…they gave me really good feedback and we had some really good talks.”

Scott is a huge fan of Spiller’s coaching style — focused more on uplifting student-athletes rather than putting them down. He can tell that Spiller cares about the kids and the players that he coaches.

“I really like Coach Spiller,” Scott added. “He’s a great guy. He brings energy and he motivates you to want to be better.”

Clemson’s running backs coach did discuss a potential scholarship offer with Scott. While an offer doesn’t appear to be imminent, the Peach State running back knows that Clemson, which has yet to offer a rising junior at his position, is being patient when it comes to the class of 2024.

“He told me that I’m still a young guy, but he’s working on building a relationship with me,” Scott said. “He’s definitely building a relationship and we’re still staying in touch. I guess in my junior year, that’s when we should be looking for an offer.”

With that said, what would a potential offer from Clemson mean for Scott and his recruitment?

“It would be a big offer for sure,” he said. “I really like the school. I’ve been liking the school since I was a young guy. It would be big for me and definitely something to consider.”

Between Clemson and Tennessee, Scott only camped at two schools this summer He also visited Wake Forest, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisville and Western Kentucky.

It was important for Scott to get back on the recruiting trail this summer after he fractured his foot during the second game of his sophomore season. Scott was medically cleared to return in Week 9, but his high school took a cautious approach to bring him back from a significant lower-body injury.

Now a year older, he’s hoping that he’s able to take his game to the next level this upcoming season and maintain a clean bill of health.

“I would say I’m an explosive back with great vision,” Scott said when asked to describe himself as a player. “I always see a hole and have the ability to make big plays. I don’t get tackled by the first man.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of Jayden Scott.

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Promising Virginia RB ‘loved every minute’ of Swinney Camp, says Clemson ‘is a special place’

Among the prospects that had the chance to showcase their talent during all three days of Clemson’s overnight camp from June 10-12 was Liberty Christian Academy (Lynchburg, Va.)’s Gideon Davidson – a 5-foot-11, 185-pound class of 2025 recruit. “The …

Among the prospects that had the chance to showcase their talent during all three days of Clemson’s overnight camp from June 10-12 was Liberty Christian Academy (Lynchburg, Va.)’s Gideon Davidson – a 5-foot-11, 185-pound class of 2025 recruit.

“The camp was great,” Davidson told The Clemson Insider recently regarding his Dabo  Swinney Camp experience. “I loved every minute of it and I definitely learned a lot.”

With that said, what was he able to take away after working with CJ Spiller for three consecutive days?

“A few things I learned from coach CJ was how to improve my footwork and how to break down and cut better,” Davidson said. “He showed me a ton of good ladder drills to do at home to help me strengthen my strengths and improve on my weak spots.”

Davidson feels like he did well throughout the duration of the three-day camp, but can’t speak to how Clemson’s coaching staff viewed his performance. However, Clemson’s running backs coach did place Davidson with the rising senior backs.

As we know, Clemson takes the recruiting process slower than most teams around the country. So it’s hard for Davidson to pinpoint where he currently stands on Clemson’s recruiting board, but there certainly appears to be mutual interest there.

“I like Coach Spiller a lot and the Clemson program a bunch too,” he said. “So, I will keep building this relationship and see where it goes. Clesmon is a special place and football program.”

Davidson earned an offer from the University of Georgia to kick off the summer and since camping at Clemson, he’s added offers from Ohio State, Miami, Oregon and Southern Cal to his list.

Virginia gave Davidson his first offer in May 2021, and former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott reoffered this past January soon after he was hired as the Cavaliers’ new head coach. Virginia Tech offered last October, then reoffered in January as well.

Liberty, Penn State and South Carolina offered last May, August and September, respectively, while Louisville, Wake Forest and Tennessee have thrown their hats in the ring with offers to Davidson this year.

He doesn’t have any other camps or visits lined up this summer. And while Davidson has been invited to more than 20 different schools, he’s staying home to work out with his coaches and teammates.

Davidson will be playing more out of the slot and additional wide receiver positions during his sophomore campaign, so it’s something he needs to get up to speed with this summer. He’s also working on improving his running back techniques, as well as being the punt returner for Liberty Christian Academy this fall.

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