Fast-rising receiver headed to Tiger Town this weekend

Clemson is set to play host to another fast-rising receiver prospect in the class of 2024 this weekend. King George (Va.) 2024 three-star Mekhai White confirmed his visit plans to The Clemson Insider on Monday night. White has been in contact with …

Clemson is set to play host to another fast-rising receiver prospect in the class of 2024 this weekend.

King George (Va.) 2024 three-star Mekhai White confirmed his visit plans to The Clemson Insider on Monday night.

White has been in contact with Tyler Grisham and Mike Reed since Sept. 1. According to White, Clemson really likes how he spreads the field and they’re really interested in him as a prospect going forward.

“I’ve been hearing for him for a while now,” White said of Clemson’s wide receivers coach. “I did hear from him on Sept. 1. He was one of the first coaches to hit me up.”

“He’s a real cool dude,” White added. “He really cares about his players and he’s really passionate about the game of football. I know he develops his players on the field, but also on the field.”

White was unable to make it down in June when Clemson originally invited him to a game. White said that Grisham told him to come down for a game and he’ll see what happens.

“It would mean a lot,” White said regarding a potential offer from Clemson. “A school like that giving me a scholarship would be awesome. It would be great.”

In addition to Clemson, White mentions schools like Michigan State, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Ohio State, Georgia and Tennesee as those who have reached out since the start of the month.

The Clemson-N.C. State game will be White’s third gameday visit this year and his first to Clemson. So far this season, he’s made his way to two other ACC schools in North Carolina and Virginia Tech.

White has never been to Clemson before.

“I want to see the atmosphere and the facilities,” he began. “I heard they had great facilities down there and, of course, academics.”

— Photo for this article courtesy Mekhai White.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

4-star Carolinas WR excited to take in first Clemson gameday visit

Clemson is set to play host to a number of high-profile targets this weekend, but few are more important than Burlington (N.C.) Hugh M. Cummings 2024 four-star wide receiver Jonathan Paylor. Paylor has been prioritized by Tyler Grisham ever since …

Clemson is set to play host to a number of high-profile targets this weekend, but few are more important than Burlington (N.C.) Hugh M. Cummings 2024 four-star wide receiver Jonathan Paylor.

Paylor has been prioritized by Tyler Grisham ever since Clemson’s wide receivers coach pulled the trigger on a scholarship offer back in June. Paylor heard from Grisham as soon as he could directly contact prospects in the class of 2024 like Paylor on Sept. 1.

“It was pretty urgent,” Paylor told The Clemson Insider earlier this month. “He was like literally the first person who texted and called me. He sent me a text about how excited he is to go on this journey that we’re gonna continue to build on.”

“It’s showing me that he’s very interested in me in a player like me,” Paylor continued. “It just goes to show that he’s really engaged and really serious about who he recruits and how he recruits them.”

Grisham texts Paylor just about every day and is constantly checking up on him.

Paylor is set to be at Clemson this weekend and he’ll return to Memorial Stadium at the end of the regular season for the South Carolina game. Following this weekend, he’ll visit Maryland and Tennessee, while also paying N.C. State another visit and make multiple trips to the University of South Carolina.

“That game is going to be big,” Paylor said of this weekend’s game against N.C. State. “I swear, I know it is. I’m really ready to see what kind of season they have as they bounce back from last season. Because last season they didn’t really have a season that Clemson usually has. They put in all this hard work over the summer. (I’m excited) to see what kind of impact it had over the summer and just seeing how the team will react.”

Paylor made sure that he’ll be in attendance with another priority target for Clemson in the 2024 recruiting class in Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley High four-star wide receiver Alex Taylor.

“Me and him planned on going to that game together,” Paylor said. “Alex is my guy. I text him every two days or so to check up on him, see how he’s doing and everything like that. Alex’s my guy. We definitely plan on going to that game together.”

Paylor (5-10, 180) ranks as the nation’s No. 7 athlete and the No. 35 overall prospect in the class of 2024, per 247Sports.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Tar Heel State TE recaps ‘amazing’ gameday visit to Clemson

A talented tight end from the Tar Heel State traveled to Tiger Town for an unofficial visit earlier this month. Weddington High School (Matthews, N.C.) junior Brooks Mauk – a 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect in the class of 2024 – made his way to …

A talented tight end from the Tar Heel State traveled to Tiger Town for an unofficial visit earlier this month.

Weddington High School (Matthews, N.C.) junior Brooks Mauk – a 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect in the class of 2024 – made his way to Clemson for the Furman game on Saturday, Sept. 10.

“The Clemson visit was amazing,” he told The Clemson Insider.

Mauk had been to games at Death Valley before, though it was back when he was much younger, so this marked his first gameday visit to Clemson as a recruit – and he came away very impressed by the environment.

“The atmosphere was crazy!” he said. “Everyone in the football complex was so nice and welcoming. The energy really picked up when the Tiger Walk started. It was cool to watch them walk into the stadium with the fans getting louder and louder.”

The highlight of the visit for Mauk, he said, was spending time with tight ends coach Kyle Richardson and offensive player development coach Tajh Boyd.

Mauk appreciates how Richardson made time to engage in conversation with him, his dad and his brother before the game.

Weddington High School (Matthews, N.C.) 2024 tight end Brooks Mauk (right) with Clemson tight ends coach Kyle Richardson during Mauk’s visit to Clemson Saturday, Sept. 10 (photo courtesy of Mauk on Twitter (@brooks_mauk)

“We were able to spend some good time with Coach Richardson at lunch,” Mauk said. “He went out of his way to spend time with us and that meant a lot. He talked about all of the players in the TE room. Different styles and strengths.”

During the game, Mauk enjoyed watching another Weddington High School product – Clemson sophomore running back Will Shipley – run for a couple of scores in the Tigers’ 35-12 win over the Paladins.

“Loved seeing Will scoring those touchdowns!” he said. “Before I met him, I had heard how hard of a worker he was. He lives and breathes football and it’s really exciting to see him reap the rewards of all of that hard work. There is a lesson for the rest of us in that. He is such a great guy, and he has a huge fan base cheering for him back home!”

Overall, Mauk said the visit gave him a better feel for where he stands with the Tigers in the recruiting process at this point.

“Coach Richardson walked through his plan for the next few years and what he looks for in his tight ends,” Mauk explained. “He likes for them to be physical and that’s kind of my style. He respects the way Coach Capone (Weddington head coach Andy Capone) develops his players physically, mentally and fundamentally for the next level.”

Mauk also made an unofficial visit to Clemson in early March to tour the facilities and take in one of the football team’s spring practices, before returning to campus for the Dabo Swinney Camp in June.

After the Clemson-Furman game visit, Mauk went to Coastal Carolina for its game against Buffalo the following weekend.

–Photos courtesy of Brooks Mauk on Twitter (@brooks_mauk)

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Swinney talks about recruiting against Saban, Bama

While Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has deep ties to the state of Alabama and often goes up against his own alma mater on the recruiting trail, it’s not something he can have too much of a personal stake in. “It’s no different than anyone else,” …

While Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has deep ties to the state of Alabama and often goes up against his own alma mater on the recruiting trail, it’s not something he can have too much of a personal stake in.

“It’s no different than anyone else,” Swinney explained during Tuesday’s media availability. “We recruit against whoever. It doesn’t matter where I went to school. I mean, Alabama, they’re gonna sign the best players every year. They’ve always done that every year. They’ve always done that and we try to sign the best players every year as well. When that’s your philosophy…as a result we end up recruiting against each other a lot.”

During the current recruiting cycle, Clemson has gone head-to-head with the University of Alabama for multiple prospects, including Cambridge (MA.) Buckingham Browne & Nichols School four-star athlete Ronan Hanafin and most notably, Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson five-star defensive lineman Peter Woods.

While Swinney and Co. were able to secure the commitments of Hanafin and Woods, coming right into the Crimson Tide’s backyard for the latter prospect, Alabama also beat out Clemson for the services of Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.) four-star defensive lineman Hunter Osborne.

Christopher Vizzina, a five-star quarterback committed to Clemson, who also hails from the Yellowhammer State, talked to The Clemson Insider shortly after Woods announced his intent to verbally pledge to Swinney’s program.

“To get a player of that caliber and take him out of Alabama, it says a lot about Clemson and it says a lot about Coach Swinney and the staff,” Vizzina said at the time. “If you look at that from afar, it’s gotta say something about Clemson. Taking two five-stars from the state of Alabama, that doesn’t happen a lot. That’s exciting.”

And while Vizzina is right, it doesn’t happen a lot, Swinney and Clemson have been able to go into the state of Alabama and get players like Justyn Ross and E.J. Williams out of Phenix City’s Central High School. 

Currently, Clemson is active in its pursuit of four-star edge rusher Tomarrion Parker, also a Central product. While Alabama is no longer actively recruiting Parker, the Crimson Tide did offer the in-state prospect a scholarship.

So, as Swinney said, Clemson and Alabama are often vying for the same, if not similar players, on the recruiting trail.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach (Nick) Saban,” Swinney continued. “He does an amazing job. It’s not surprising that we get on a lot of the same kids. I think we’re looking for a lot of the same things. But, as far just from a personal standpoint, I’ve been doing it a long time and I don’t even think about it.”

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce limited edition signed cards from the freshmen football players are now in our online store. There are only 100 of each signed.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Big Georgia OL ‘loved every second’ of Clemson visit, explains why it’s a ‘dream’ school

Clemson recently played host to this big Peach State offensive lineman with 20 scholarship offers under his belt. Gabriel Fortson of North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) – a 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior in the class of 2023 – made an unofficial …

Clemson recently played host to this big Peach State offensive lineman with 20 scholarship offers under his belt.

Gabriel Fortson of North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) – a 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior in the class of 2023 – made an unofficial visit to campus for the Louisiana Tech game on Sept. 17.

“It was great,” he said to The Clemson Insider. “I loved every second of it.”

It wasn’t Fortson’s first gameday visit to Clemson, though it was his first for a night game at Death Valley.

“The new lights and the new jumbotron that they have, they just recently put up, was really nice,” he said. “It was great. There’s a Tiger on top of it, and that was pretty cool to me personally. But all in all, it was really cool. The stadium was packed out, and you could barely even hear yourself think.”

Fortson made the trip to Tiger Town with his mother, who is very fond of Clemson as well.

“She loves it,” he said. “She loves it about just as much as I do.”

While on campus, they were able to talk a lot with Tigers offensive line coach Thomas Austin, who invited Fortson to attend the game.

“I feel like he got to know me and my mom pretty well,” Fortson said.

Austin explained to Fortson where he stands with Clemson in the recruiting process as far as a potential offer from the Tigers.

Clemson is currently full on the offensive line in its 2023 recruiting class, with three OL commitments on board, but an offer to Fortson isn’t out of the question depending on certain circumstances.

“They’re waiting on a few things, but if those few things happen, then I’ll be one of the first to end up with an offer there,” he said.

Fortson owns offers from schools such as Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri and UCF, to name some.

An offer from the Tigers would be a dream come true for Fortson, who explained to TCI why Clemson is one of what he called his “dream schools.”

“Just the culture that they have around that football program alone is something that I look at, and it honestly makes me feel warm,” he said. “That’s exactly what I want in a school. If I’m going to spend four years there, I want to feel like I’m a part of the family and not just the player on their team, and Clemson does that really well.”

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Friday Night Lights: Future Tigers shine across the board

It’s time for this week’s edition of Friday Night Lights. The Clemson Insider tracked the weekly individual performances of Clemson’s verbal commitments from the 2023 class. Here are the results from Week 6: Christopher Vizzina Vizzina, a 6-foot-4, …

It’s time for this week’s edition of Friday Night Lights.

The Clemson Insider tracked the weekly individual performances of Clemson’s verbal commitments from the 2023 class. Here are the results from Week 6:

Christopher Vizzina

Vizzina, a 6-foot-4, 207-pound quarterback from Alabama’s Briarwood Christain Schoool, completed 9 of 15 passes for 85 yards with two touchdowns in his team’s 34-14 win over Oak Mountain.

Clemson’s five-star quarterback commit also finished with 140 yards on 20 carries with three rushing touchdowns.

Noble Johnson

Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound wide receiver from Texas’ Rockwall High School, hauled in three catches for 31 yards in his team’s 56-21 win over Rockwall-Heath.

Markus Dixon

Dixon, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end from Pennsylavinna’s Archbishop Wood High School, told The Clemson Insider that he caught a 50-yard touchdown pass against The Haverford School in a 35-11 loss.

Olsen Patt Henry

Henry, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound tight end from Florida’s First Baptist Academy, caught three passes for 52 yards in his team’s 56-42 win over Bishop Verot.

Branden Strozier

Strozier, a 6-foot-2 175-pound cornerback from Georgia’s St. Francis High School, recorded two tackles and an interception in a 26-7 win over Christian Heritage.

Clemson’s four-star cornerback commit also made an impact on the offensive side of the football. Strozier told The Clemson Insider that he also caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown reception.

Avieon Terrell

Terrell, a 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback from Georgia’s Westlake High School, made an impact on the offensive side of the ball and caught two passes for 60 yards in his team’s 23-20 win over Collins Hill.

Defensive stats for Terrell weren’t available as of Monday morning.

Robert Billings

Billings, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety from Georgia’s Milton High School, recorded seven tackles (one assist) and an interception in his team’s 21-7 loss against North Cobb.

Peter Woods

Woods, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman from Alabama’s Thompson High School, recorded seven total tackles (one for loss and two quarterback hurries in his team’s 17-14 win over Clay-Chalkville.

AJ Hoffler

Hoffler, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end from Georgia’s Woodward Academy, told The Clemson Insider that he recorded two tackles and a sack in his team’s 41-0 win over Alcovy.

David Ojiegbe

Ojiegbe, a 6-foot-4. 240-pound defensive end from Washington D.C.’s St. John’s College High School recorded a fumble recovery in his team’s 41-24 win over Central.

Defensive stats for Ojiegbe weren’t available as of Monday morning.

Dee Crayton

Crayton, a 6-foot-2, 216-pound linebacker from Georgia’s Denmark High School, recorded a game-winning interception during his team’s 28-25 win over Dacula.

Jamal Anderson

Anderson, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound linebacker from Georgia’s Mill Creek High School, recorded six total tackles and hauled in one pass for 13 yards on the offensive side of the football.

Notes: Sumner (Riverview, Fla.) four-star safety Kylen Webb and McDonough (Ga.) Eagle’s Landing Christian four-star offensive tackle Zechariah Owens are both currently out with injuries.

Stockbridge (Ga.) three-star cornerback Shelton Lewis was out of action Friday.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Clemson visit ‘set the bar high’ for promising QB prospect

Last weekend, Clemson played host to a promising quarterback prospect, who hails from Buffalo, West Virginia. Josh Moody, a 6-foot-1, 186-pound sophomore in the class of 2025, made made his way to Death Valley for the Tigers’ 48-20 win over …

Last weekend, Clemson played host to a promising quarterback prospect, who hails from Buffalo, West Virginia.

Josh Moody, a 6-foot-1, 186-pound sophomore in the class of 2025, made made his way to Death Valley for the Tigers’ 48-20 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Sept. 17.

“It was amazing. The atmosphere was great,” Moody told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview last week. “I really enjoyed it. It was definitely different just seeing how the game days operate and how the coaches are on gameday, how locked in they are. It was kind of cool.”

“It definitely grabbed my attention,” Moody said of Clemson’s game day atmosphere. “It was just cool to see the crowd engaged the whole game, even whenever Clemson was up by 20. Other schools — I’ve been to other college football games — and if it’s a blowout, they’re kinda less engaged. It was cool seeing the crowd engaged the whole game. The new stadium lights, that was really cool.”

What part of Clemson’s game day experience stood out to Moody the most?

“I mean, obviously, the players running down the hill was cool to see,” he explained. “Just how the coaches engage with you even when they have a game to prepare for. That was important to me.”

Moody had a chance to talk with former Clemson quarterback turned offensive analyst Tajh Boyd, as well as defensive tackles coach Nick Eason.

“I just talked about my season so far with Tajh and just staying in touch with him,” Moody said. “It meant a lot to (talk to Boyd) because he was really my role model growing up. He was one of the reasons that I wanted to play quarterback from the beginning, so being able to catch up with him and have the ability to stay in touch with him…it’s just really cool.”

“With Nick, we talked and we kind of relate because we both lost a parent to cancer. Just talking to him on a family level and being able to talk about something other than football was important.”

Moody said that it means a lot to him to see that someone like Eason could open up and be real. 

“Clemson is authentic and I respect that,” he added.

Moody said that he would love to get back down to Clemson for another game this season, but his schedule is kind of starting to fill up. He definitely wants to get back down to Clemson next year for sure.

As far as some of his other game day visits go, Moody is scheduled to visit West Virginia, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State, Ball State and possibly Wake Forest.

The atmosphere he experienced at Clemson is going to be hard to beat, though.

“It really did set the bar high for me, especially growing up a Clemson fan,” Moody said. “It was cool being the first game day visit I had this year. It really meant a lot.”

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

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: Word was the majority of the NIL funds for the Clemson collectives early on were devoted to current players on the roster. I realize it will never be priority No. 1, but has there been any shift in utilizing incentives for active recruits now that the collectives are more established?

Collectives at Clemson will not be utilizing incentives for active recruits. The main and only focus has been to maximize the opportunities and the contributions that go to Clemson student-athletes while doing NIL the right way. Dear Old Clemson, a local Clemson collective, has now done over 100 NIL deals with Clemson student-athletes.

Of course, the opportunities that the collectives can present can be used as a recruiting pitch. Still, collectives will not be offering any incentives to any player or person that is not a current student-athlete at Clemson.

Q: How are we looking with [Kam] Pringle and [Josiah] Thompson for ‘24 OTs?

Our Gavin Oliver caught up with Josiah Thomspon back in August. At the time, the four-star offensive tackle out of Dillon (S.C.) High School informed The Clemson Insider that Clemson would “most definitely” be a top school for him throughout his process.

This was, of course, before Sept. 1 and Thomas Austin has since been in contact with the big-time in-state prospect. In previous conversations with The Clemson Insider, Thompson has spoken highly of Clemson’s offensive line coach, as the two continue to improve their relationship with each other.

Austin invited Thomspon to attend a game day at Memorial Stadium this fall. The plan is for Thomspon, who is ranked as high as the country’s No. 4 offensive tackle in the 2024 class by 247Sports, to make his way back to Tiger Town, but as of now, it remains to be seen which home game he and his family will attend.

As for Kam Pringle, the Palmetto State’s top-ranked prospect included Clemson in his top-10 schools, along with N.C. State, Tennessee, LSU, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio State, Georgia and Auburn.

When Clemson formally turned the page to offering prospects in the 2024 class on June 1 and started doling out offers to rising junior recruits, one of the first to report an offer from the Tigers was Pringle.

According to Pringle, Clemson let him know that he’s at the top of the board and it reinforced that he’s a priority target for them with him being an in-state offensive lineman. 

I’d expect Pringle to be at the Clemson-N.C. State game next Saturday in The Valley.

Q: With offering [Jamarion] Wilcox, any chance that UGA tries to steal him away like they did last year with [Andrew] Paul? And did UGA really want Paul or just try to keep us from getting him?

After losing out on both Richard Young and Justice Haynes, Georgia and Kirby Smart are still in the market for a running back. Jamarion Wilcox, who hails from Douglasgivlle (Ga.) South Paulding High, is about an hour and a half down the road from Athens.

There is definitely interest on Georgia’s part, but Clemson remains a prime contender, along with Kentucky. There’s certainly a chance, but I’m sure Dabo Swinney and staff don’t want a repeat of what happened last year.

Georgia wanted Andrew Paul, as did a lot of other top schools who were late to his recruitment. There were those close to Paul’s recruitment, who thought the Bulldogs came in too late, but it’s hard to beat the allure of Georgia when you are a top running back prospect and a hot commodity at that.

I have a hard time seeing this play out like Paul did, but as we’ve come to learn, things are often fluid when it comes to recruiting.

Q: 2024 RB recruiting. Noticed that none of the Top 50 RBs have us listed in their favorites. Do you have any names we are looking at?

Two names have probably garnered the most attention from Clemson’s staff and that’s Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb four-star  David Eziomume and Aiken (S.C.) Midland Valley four-star Traevon Dunbar.

Q: Now that Collins is leaving, does that mean we will go after another WR in ’23?

I wouldn’t rule it out, but right now, I’m more inclined to believe that Clemson is focused on the receivers in the class of 2024. Names like Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) four-star Alex Taylor, Burlington (N.C.) Hugh M. Cummings four-star Jonathan Paylor, Cass (Cartersville, Ga.) four-star Sacovie White and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star James Madison II.

Q: I saw from the team’s Facebook page over the summer that a Clemson coach had visited Lee County Ga HS. Can you tell me what player/players they are recruiting?

That would be 2024 four-star defensive lineman Omar White, who has since transferred to Valdosta.

Q: Sam, I saw chatter about Stephiylan Green being in attendance at the Georgia game. Will you have any news to report about that?

A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Rome (Georgia) four-star defensive lineman, Stephiylan Green, was in attendance for Clemson’s home opener against Furman at Memorial Stadium.

The news comes after Green was in attendance for Georgia’s 49-3 win over Oregon in Atlanta a week prior. While Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs are still pursuing the Clemson commit, it’s a positive development that Green was in attendance.

From what I understand, Georgia is still very involved here and it’s certainly a situation worth monitoring.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

5-star QB commit calls latest Tiger Town visit one of his favorites

Christopher Vizzina’s most recent visit to Clemson is probably one of his favorite visits he’s ever taken. Clemson’s five-star quarterback commit out of Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christain School, who was in attendance for the Tigers’ 48-20 win …

Christopher Vizzina’s most recent visit to Clemson is probably one of his favorite visits he’s ever taken.

Clemson’s five-star quarterback commit out of Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christain School, who was in attendance for the Tigers’ 48-20 win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday at Memorial Stadium, admitted as such in a phone interview with The Clemson Insider Wednesday afternoon.

“The atmosphere there was just unreal,” Vizzina said. “It’s not like it’s a conference game or anything, but you wouldn’t know. It was packed out. I remember running to the hill from the visitors’ tunnel after the national anthem and hearing all the Clemson fans saying, ‘Let’s go Vizzina’ and people just encouraging me even though I’m not playing in the game or anything like that. Even the student section showed me a lot of love and everything. It was unreal. 

“To stand up there and get to be up there when they touch the rock and get to be under that huge jumbotron and see the hype video and see the lights flashing, it was huge. It was just an amazing feeling.”

That feeling carried over from some of the pregame festivities, in which Clemson continued to make its prized quarterback commit feel like a priority.

“I walked in there and just knew my way around the facility,” Vizzina began in explaining his latest visit to Clemson. “They just let me get a second look at everything — really like the seventh look, but just to be able to see everything again and just really hang out with the coaches, they personally know me now.”

Of course, Vizzina is referring to before Clemson’s third victory of the season, in which he had a chance to catch up with some of his future coaches and discuss some of the games he’s played in during his senior season.

“It was great,” he said. “I think one of the most special things for me was getting to talk to Coach Swinney for like 15-20 minutes before the game. I was kind of thinking like, ‘What other head coach would be doing this?’ Taking the time to talk to me before a good game.”

“For him to take the time to do that meant the world,” Vizzina added. “I knew that’s the person he is. Every time I talk to him, I know that what I think about him is correct.”

In his sitdown with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, Vizzina said they discussed a multitude of things, including the Tigers’ 2023 recruiting class, how his senior campaign is going and just life in general.

Vizizna also had the chance to talk with Swinney, right after he handed out his latest running back offer to Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding three-star Jamarion Wilcox, who was on campus for an unofficial visit.

“Right now it is,” Vizzina said when asked about Wilcox being Clemson’s main target at running back. “We’re his biggest offer for sure. I think he loves it. He’s got an amazing story. I think the Clemson staff has really shown him that we want him here and everything like that. Even the commits, we wanted to go up to him and let him know, ‘You’re our guy. We want you to be a part of this class.’”

Wilcox isn’t the only uncommitted prospect in the class of 2023 that Vizzina’s recruiting him. He’s in on Tomarrion Parker and is putting forth his best effort to convince the four-star defensive end out of Phenix City (Ala.) Central High School, that Clemson is the best fit for him.

“Me and him are pretty tight,” Vizzina said of Parker. “I’d say he might be a little annoyed with me, but at the same time, I think he can tell that this is a school that really wants him. I think we’re in a good spot with him. I don’t think he’s made his decision yet, but obviously, I want him to be a part of this class and that would be a huge get for us.

“I feel like I’m doing my job (as a recruiter), but that’s what comes with it — you feel like you’re annoying people. I’m sure that’s what coaches feel like sometimes, but that’s their job. Like I said before I committed, I want to be the leader of this class. I wanted to help build this class. That’s my job and that’s what I’m doing.”

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce limited edition signed cards from the freshmen football players are now in our online store. There are only 100 of each signed.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Fast-rising Tar Heel State OL says Clemson gameday environment ‘is hard to beat’

A fast-rising offensive line prospect from the Tar Heel State was on campus for the Louisiana Tech game this past weekend. Cornelius (N.C.) William Amos Hough’s Eagan Boyer – a class of 2024 prospect who holds offers from schools like Charlotte, …

A fast-rising offensive line prospect from the Tar Heel State was on campus for the Louisiana Tech game this past weekend.

Cornelius (N.C.) William Amos Hough’s Eagan Boyer — a class of 2024 prospect who holds offers from schools like Charlotte, Duke, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest — was in attendance for Clemson’s 48-20 win over La. Tech on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Memorial Stadium.

“The visit went great,” Boyer said of this past Saturday’s visit. “The tour of the facilities was really awesome and the game environment there is hard to beat. Being up on the top of the hill when the players came in was really cool.”

“The game day experience there is great,” he added. “A lot of energy there throughout the game.”

Boyer (6-8, 260) is pretty athletic for his size and has a lot of length to go with it. The converted tight end is in a year into his positional transition, so he’s focused on getting bigger, but he also remains just as athletic as he was prior to changing positions.

What was Boyer able to hear from Clemson’s staff when he was on campus?

“Mainly that they like my footwork and athleticism,” he recalled. “I think I’m definitely going to be coming back.”

In addition to possibly taking another Clemson game day visit, Boyer has visits planned to North Carolina, N.C. State and Georgia over the next few weeks. After that, he also plans on making his way to Maryland and West Virginia.

Look for Clemson to keep an eye on this fast-rising prospect as he continues to progress throughout his junior campaign.

Come out to support Clemson baseball at Dear Old Clemson’s event on September 30 at the Madren Conference Center. New head coach Erik Bakich will speak and most of next year’s team will be on hand. Get your tickets today or sign up for the Orange level or higher of the Tiger Club to get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Dear Old Clemson.