Mike Reed stopped by a high school in the Sunshine State Tuesday.
Clemson’s cornerbacks coach paid a visit to Miami (Fla.) Killian Senior High, which is home to 2023 three-star defensive back Dwight Bootle, II.
Bootle (5-11, 165) caught up with The Clemson Insider regarding Reed’s visit to his campus and Clemson’s perceived interest in him going forward.
“He really stopped by to come see me, see how big I was, and tell me that he really liked me and he’s looking forward to building a relationship with me,” Bootle told TCI earlier this week. “He just wanted to let me know if he says he’s rockin ‘with me, he rockin’ with me. That’s the recruitment process and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
This was the first time that Clemson has been in contact with Bootle.
“It was pretty cool,” he said. “It also let me know who I am in terms of my skill set, to be noticed by a school like Clemson, that’s pretty big. So, it just lets me know who I am and what I need to keep working on to get better. It was a really cool experience. I’m very thankful and very blessed for that.”
According to Bootle, Reed asked him if there was a particular position he liked to play. That’s because if you watch his film, Bootle is playing all around the secondary. He views himself as a defensive back but will let the chips fall as they may.
“It’s a really long process, I’m only a junior right now,” Bootle said. “I got a whole year left. (Reed) really wants to see me in the spring and just see me overall to see what I grow into.”
Bootle is very versatile, he can do it all. He can hit and he can cover from any position in the secondary. First and foremost, he’s a leader on the field. He’s the quarterback of the defense always making calls and checking in and out of calls. Bootle holds others around him to a high standard.
Anything he sees out on the field, he’ll tell his coaches and they’ll let him make the necessary adjustments.
“I consider myself a really good football player and that’s just from knowing concepts and knowing formations,” he said. “I know football. So, they let me take over. It means a lot. Another thing, it has a lot to do with a lot of next-level traits. I’m also happy that I allow them to do that.”
Bootle has begun to receive a lot more attention since he performed pretty well at the Battle Miami 7-on-7 tournament last weekend. He actually plays on the same team — South Florida Express — as a Clemson commit in Edison (Miami, Fla.) four-star wide receiver Nathaniel Joseph.
“He’s good. That guy’s really good,” Bootle said of Joseph. “He’s always telling me that Clemson is a place he loves. He’s committed. He loves it there and nothing can change his mind. He’s really locked in.”
That opened Bootle’s eyes.
“It definitely did,” he added. “It showed me that somebody from my area could thrive and survive and do big things in that area.”
As far as his own recruitment is concerned, Bootle is sitting at 21 offers. Since our conversation with him, he’s picked up offers from Coastal Carolina, Nebraska and UAB. That offer from the Cornhuskers means a bit more. After all, he’s a Nebraska legacy recruit.
Dwight is the younger brother of Dicaprio Bootle, who is currently on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad and played in 44 games (2017-20) for Nebraska, at both the safety and cornerback positions.
“To be honest, me and my brother are the same sizes,” Dwight said. “I look up to my brother really the most because he’s somebody I spent my whole life with. I just sat there watching him put the work in day in, day out and he made it. I model my game after him.”
As we were wrapping our conversation, he had one last thing to say.
“I don’t know, but Clemson just might be my best option,” he said, “and I’m gonna leave it at that.”
Dwight will be visiting Clemson this spring, returning the favor to Reed, who visited him this past week.
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