Clemson is set to host a plethora of top talent on Saturday, when the Tigers will hold their elite junior day and welcome some of the nation’s top prospects in the 2023 class to campus.
One of the headlining junior day visitors will be Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian four-star signal caller Christopher Vizzina (pictured above), the No. 8 quarterback and No. 85 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Vizzina camped at Clemson last summer and returned to campus for the Wake Forest game on Nov. 20, when he picked up an offer from the Tigers. He will be the lone quarterback on campus for Clemson’s elite junior day.
“I’m super excited,” he told The Clemson Insider. “It’s their elite junior day, so everybody up there is one of the top players in the country, so that should be really awesome.”
Among the other headliners expected to be on hand for Clemson’s elite junior day are a pair of five-star defensive tackles in Thompson High School (Alabaster, Ala.)’s Peter Woods and Warner Robins (Ga.) High School’s Vic Burley.
Woods, ranked as the No. 4 defensive lineman in the 2023 class per the 247Sports Composite, released a top six in December that included Clemson along with Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Oregon. The Tigers extended an offer to Woods back on June 1 of last year – the first day they began offering prospects in the 2023 class. He visited Clemson during the Dabo Swinney Camp last June and returned to campus for the Boston College and Florida State games in October.
Burley, ranked as the No. 6 defensive lineman in the 2023 class according to the 247Sports Composite, likewise received an offer from Clemson on June 1. He was on campus last June as well and returned to Tiger Town for the UConn game in November.
Several other big-time defensive linemen are also slated to be in attendance for Saturday’s elite junior day, including Highland Home (Ala.) four-star Keldric Faulk, Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola four-star Derrick LeBlanc, Columbus (Ga.) Carver four-star Darron Reed, New Bern (N.C.) four-star Keith Sampson and Hickory (N.C.) four-star Rico Walker.
Faulk, Reed, Sampson and Walker all earned offers from Clemson earlier this month. Sampson dropped a top five on Jan. 15 featuring Clemson, Georgia, NC State, Ohio State and South Carolina, while LeBlanc, who received an offer from Clemson last September, named the Tigers one of his final seven schools in December along with Florida, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State and UCF.
A longstanding Clemson cornerback target in the 2023 class who will make his way back to campus Saturday is Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake four-star Avieon Terrell – of course, the younger brother of former Clemson and current Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell.
Clemson offered the younger Terrell back in April 2020, and he’s made countless trips to The Valley ever since. He is ranked as the No. 15 cornerback and No. 103 overall prospect nationally in the 2023 class, per Rivals.
Terrell will be joined at Clemson’s elite junior day by a couple of other standout defensive backs: Coppell (Texas) four-star cornerback Braxton Myers and Selma (Ala.) four-star safety DaKaari Nelson.
Myers received an offer from Clemson on Wednesday of last week, and head coach Dabo Swinney paid a visit to his school earlier this week. Nelson doesn’t currently hold an offer from the Tigers, though they’re showing substantial interest and co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Mickey Conn stopped by his school on Thursday.
“Lately they’ve been saying they like the way I play and they want to offer me, but Coach Swinney wants to see me in person before they do,” Nelson told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Thursday.
Other prominent prospects planning to attend Clemson’s elite junior day include Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity Catholic four-star running back Justice Haynes, Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan four-star offensive lineman Sam Pendleton, Lakeland (Fla.) four-star wide receiver Tyler Williams and Jacksonville (Fla.) Andrew Jackson four-star linebacker Grayson Howard.
As always, visitor lists like this one are fluid and subject to change. But here is the full list of prospects that The Clemson Insider has confirmed as expected visitors for Saturday’s elite junior day:
Warner Robins (Ga.) 2023 5-star DL Vic Burley
Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson 2023 5-star DL Peter Woods
Columbus (Ga.) Carver 2023 4-star DL Darron Reed
Highland Home (Ala.) 2023 4-star DL Keldric Faulk
New Bern (N.C.) 2023 4-star DL Keith Sampson
Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola 2023 4-star DL Derrick LeBlanc
Hickory (N.C.) 2023 4-star DL Rico Walker
Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian 2023 4-star QB Christopher Vizzina
Selma (Ala.) 2023 4-star S DaKaari Nelson
Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan 2023 4-star OL Sam Pendleton
Lakeland (Fla.) 2023 4-star WR Tyler Williams
Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity Catholic 2023 4-star RB Justice Haynes
Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake 2023 4-star CB Avieon Terrell
Jacksonville (Fla.) Andrew Jackson 2023 4-star LB Grayson Howard
Coppell (Texas) 2023 4-star S Braxton Myers
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