Tag: Gabriel Fortson

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.”

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The Insider Report: Updates on 5-star LB, priority WR target and other weekend visitors

It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report. We hope everyone had a great weekend. 5-star linebacker set to give Clemson another look As The Clemson Insider previously reported, Buford (Ga.) 2025 five-star linebacker Jadon Perlotte will …

It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report.

We hope everyone had a great weekend.

5-star linebacker set to give Clemson another look

As The Clemson Insider previously reported, Buford (Ga.) 2025 five-star linebacker Jadon Perlotte will be in attendance for this Saturday’s game against N.C. State. Perlotte confirmed as much on social media this past weekend.

Perlotte, who was recently designated as a five-star prospect, will make his way to campus for the first time since March 12. Clemson left a major impression on him and his mother during the program’s underclassmen day, and even though he didn’t find his way to Tiger Town this past summer, he’s making his way back to campus this weekend.

When we caught up with Perlotte back in May, he had been in contact with Kavell Conner, who is in his first season serving in defensive player development on Dabo Swinney’s staff.

“He said he (saw) me blow up and he asked me if I was still loyal,” Perlotte began to recall with a chuckle. “He asked me if I was still interested (in Clemson). He wanted to know how I was feeling.”

Perlotte, who ranks as the nation’s No. 4 linebacker and the No. 33 overall prospect in the class of 2025, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, currently holds over 20 scholarship offers from just about every high-profile Power Five program.

If Clemson were eventually to pull the trigger on a scholarship offer, what would that mean for Perlotte and his recruitment?

“It’d mean everything,” he said. “That’s one of my dream schools. They’d definitely be right up there.”

Perlotte actually said at the time — May 10 — that he was looking to get back on campus in a couple of weeks, so he could show his father around campus. Obviously, that never materialized, but he’ll have a chance to experience his first gameday in The Valley this Saturday.

One of Perlotte’s teammates at Buford, KingJoseph Edwards, will also be in attendance.

Edwards, who 247Sports considers to be the nation’s No. 4 athlete and the No. 12 overall prospect in the class of 2024, was originally planning to visit for the Syracuse game on Oct. 22 but confirmed to TCI on Monday that he has since moved up his visit to this weekend.

“Yes, I’ve never been,” Edwards said in a message to TCI on Monday when asked if he was looking forward to visiting this weekend.

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’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 TCI 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.”

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 making 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.”

Big Georgia OL loved recent Clemson visit

Among the prospects who attended Clemson’s win over Louisiana Tech, two Saturdays ago was Gabriel Fortson, an offensive lineman in the class of 2023 from North Cobb Christian School in Kennesaw, Ga.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior told TCI he “loved every second” of the visit.

It was Fortson’s second gameday visit to Clemson but first for a night game at Death Valley, and he came away very impressed.

“The stadium was packed out, and you could barely even hear yourself think,” he said

Fortson was accompanied by his mother, who loves Clemson as well. They were able to spend a good bit of time with Tigers offensive line coach Thomas Austin, and Fortson said he felt their relationship with him “definitely” grew stronger.

A big part of the visit that stood out to Fortson, he said, was seeing how the Tigers played the Louisiana Tech game in tribute to Ella Bresee, the younger sister of Bryan who sadly passed away at 15 years old following her 18-month battle with brain cancer.

“It shows the type of culture that they have there,” Fortson said.

Prior to visiting Clemson, Fortson saw the Tigers play in their season opener against Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, as a guest of the Yellow Jackets. He feels Georgia Tech and UCF are the schools showing him the most love so far, as well as Clemson more recently.

Georgia Tech and UCF have offered Fortson, along with schools such as North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri.

Clemson, he said, is one of his “dream schools.”

Tigers set to host top cornerback target

One of the top defensive back prospects planning to visit Clemson for Saturday’s game is Tavoy Feagin, a four-star cornerback from Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, Fla.

Feagin, a 6-foot, 170-pound junior, was the first player at his position to receive an offer from Clemson when the Tigers began dispensing offers to class of 2024 recruits back on June 1.

After traveling to Clemson for an unofficial visit in early March, Feagin made his way back to campus on June 2. Later in June, he included the Tigers among his top 10 schools, along with Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, North Carolina, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

“The reason why I put Clemson in my top 10 was because I really like the coaching staff and the atmosphere,” he said to TCI after dropping the list.

Feagin’s father, Michael, played defensive back at Alabama in the 1990s when Dabo Swinney was on the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff.

Mike Reed is spearheading Clemson’s recruitment of Feagin, who communicates regularly with Reed and has plenty of respect for the Tigers’ cornerbacks coach – both for the job he does on the field, and who he is off the field as well.

“I always stay in contact with Coach Reed,” Feagin said, “because not only is he a great coach, he’s also a great person and mentor.”

Feagin is ranked as high as the No. 73 overall prospect in the 2024 class by 247Sports.

Priority local OL planning to visit Saturday

A priority local offensive line target is slated to be back on campus this weekend.

Greenville (S.C.) High School four-star Blake Franks is planning to attend Saturday’s game.

Franks participated in the Swinney Camp this summer and has visited Clemson multiple times since this past March.

The 6-foot-5, 310-pound junior received an offer from Clemson in late July.

He has heard from Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin and other members of the Tigers’ staff since the calendar turned to Sept. 1, when college coaches across the country could begin directly contacting junior prospects in the class of 2024.

“He (Austin) told me I’m a big priority,” Franks said to TCI recently, “and that he’s going to come to one of our games this year.”

Franks holds more than a dozen scholarship offers, including offers from schools such as Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Penn State and South Carolina along with Clemson.

He told TCI earlier this month that while he didn’t know at the time which schools comprise his top five, he definitely thinks Clemson “is high up there” on his list.

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 TCI 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.

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.”

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.

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Top prospects headed to Death Valley for Clemson-Louisiana Tech game

Clemson will again play host to some top prospects for Saturday’s 8:00 p.m. game against Louisiana Tech in Death Valley. Here are some of the bigger names The Clemson Insider has confirmed as planned visitors for the Clemson-Tech game. The …

Clemson will again play host to some top prospects for Saturday’s 8:00 p.m. game against Louisiana Tech in Death Valley.

Here are some of the bigger names The Clemson Insider has confirmed as planned visitors for the Clemson-Tech game.

The headlining prospect in the class of 2023 is Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb Christian School three-star interior offensive lineman Gabriel Fortson. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp this past summer and had a great time while competing at the camp and working with Clemson’s coaching staff.

He also said he “definitely” feels better about his chances of earning an offer from the Tigers based on how this year’s Swinney Camp went for him.

“It’d mean a lot,” Fortson said of a potential Clemson offer. “It’d immediately be one of my top schools on the list. Honestly, I’d love to go there. Everything’s so family-oriented, and Coach Swinney’s such a great coach and everything. I’d love to be a part of it.”

A couple of headliners among the recruits expected to be in attendance are a five-star class of 2024 prospect in Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) safety Mike Matthews, as well as a four-star class of 2024 prospect in Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s Prep cornerback Omillio Agard.

When Clemson formally turned the page to offering prospects in the 2024 class on Wednesday, June 1, and started doling out offers to rising junior recruits, two of the first prospects to report offers from the Tigers were Matthews and Agard.

247Sports considers Matthews (6-3. 180) to be the No. 1 safety and the nation’s No. 9 overall prospect regardless of position in the class of 2024.

“I was very excited,” Matthews said of receiving an offer from Clemson. “It’s very important for me for a school like that to offer me. It shows how they feel about me as a player.”

Agard (6-0, 173) is ranked as the No. 8 cornerback and No. 84 overall prospect in the 2024 class by Rivals, while 247Sports considers him the No. 18 corner and No. 204 overall prospect in the class.

“Getting that offer means a lot because I’ve been building a relationship with Coach Reed and the coaches for over a year now, so it’s like, ‘Wow, they really believe in me,’ because I’m one of the first offers in the class,” Agard told The Clemson Insider back in June. It means a lot and they don’t offer too many guys, so I’m just grateful. I’m definitely high on them and they’re high on me. We’re gonna see where this goes in the next couple of years.”

During his visit, Agard got a chance to talk with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney for about 30 minutes. According to Agard, Swinney was telling him that he’s the type of guy that they want in their program because he’s a great person with good academics.

“I just check every box,” Agard recalled, “and they check all my boxes at a school that I want to be at. It just all fell into place. Coach Swinney’s a great guy and he just showed me that I’m wanted.”

“I’m really high on Clemson now,” he added. “I see myself there. I could be a Tiger. It was just great.”

Cass (Cartersville, Ga.) 2024 three-star wide receiver Sacovie White will be making his first trip to Clemson on Saturday, along with his mother and sister.

“I’m very excited about that,” he said of Saturday’s game. “It’s just to see a night game. Night games are very, very inspiring — just seeing what the atmosphere feels like.”

Another prospect worth mentioning that will be in attendance is Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) 2025 offensive lineman Cortez Smith. Smith — a 6-foot-4, 275-pound sophomore in the class of 2025 — is high on Clemson early and is already one of the top offensive guards in the country. He holds a lone offer from Penn State.

Among other notable recruits on Clemson’s anticipated guest list for Saturday’s game are two Clemson commits in Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian five-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina and Stockbridge (Georgia) three-star cornerback Shelton Lewis, as well as Gaffney (S.C.) 2023 DB O’Myireia Daniels, Navarre (Florida) four-star LB Zavier Hamilton, Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s Prep four-star WR David Washington, Jr., Daphne (Ala.) Bayside Academy 2024 OL Graham Uter, Spartanburg (S.C.) Broome High 2024 OL Steven O’Dell, Alpharetta (Ga.) Johns Creek 2024 WR Kyle Vaka, Buffalo (West Virginia) 2025 QB Josh Moody, Woodmont (Simpsonville, S.C.) 2025 TE Tre Broughton, Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 2025 OL Bryce Hudson, Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) 2025 OL Jordan Floyd and Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School (Georgia) 2025 DL Terry Nwabuisi Ezeala.

— Myrtle Beach (S.C.) 2025 WR John Simmons messaged The Clemson Insider saying that he might be attending this weekend’s game, while unconfirmed at the moment.

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Fast-rising Georgia OL would ‘love to be a part of’ Clemson’s program

A fast-rising offensive line prospect from the Peach State participated in Day 2 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Thursday, June 2. North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) three-star interior O-lineman Gabriel Fortson – a 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising …

A fast-rising offensive line prospect from the Peach State participated in Day 2 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Thursday, June 2.

North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) three-star interior O-lineman Gabriel Fortson – a 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising senior in the class of 2023 – had a great time while competing at the camp and working with the Tigers’ coaching staff.

“It was a ton of fun,” he told The Clemson Insider. “I got to compete and get to be with the coaches a little bit, see what they’re all about, and it was fun. I liked it.”

Fortson saw his recruitment explode last month after he picked up his first offer from Georgia Tech on May 2. Between then and May 19, he racked up 18 more offers, including ACC and SEC offers from North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri.

According to Fortson, he received very positive feedback regarding his camp performance from Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin.

“He loved everything about me at camp,” Fortson said. “He said he’ll give me a call within a couple of weeks or so and follow back up and things like that.”

What specifically impressed Austin about Fortson’s camp showing and him as an offensive lineman?

“He liked the way that I’m physical off the ball,” Fortson said. “He said I have great feet. He likes the way my hips move and everything.”

Fortson, who also camped at Clemson last summer, indicated that Austin took notice of his improvement from last year’s camp to this year’s.

“I had a couple things to work on from last camp to this camp, and he liked how I put everything together coming into this year,” Fortson said, “and he said he’ll follow back up with me a little later on.”

In addition to traveling to Clemson for the Swinney Camp last year, Fortson made a couple of game-day visits to Death Valley during the season and said he “definitely” plans to return to Tiger Town for another game this fall.

He also said he “definitely” feels better about his chances of earning an offer from the Tigers based on how this year’s Swinney Camp went for him.

“It’d mean a lot,” Fortson said of a potential Clemson offer. “It’d immediately be one of my top schools in the list. Honestly, I’d love to go there. Everything’s so family oriented, and Coach Swinney’s such a great coach and everything. I’d love to be a part of it.”

–Photo courtesy of Gabriel Fortson on Twitter (@Gabriel_5077)

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The Insider Report: Latest intel on official visitors, campers, newest commit & more

It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report. We hope everyone had a great weekend. More details on Monday’s big commitment After speaking with Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) four-star cornerback Avieon Terrell this afternoon, we have some more …

It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report.

We hope everyone had a great weekend.

 More details on Monday’s big commitment

After speaking with Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) four-star cornerback Avieon Terrell this afternoon, we have some more details on a commitment that was more than a couple of years in the making.

“The family atmosphere,” Terrell said when asked why he chose Clemson over schools like Auburn, Kentucky, Michigan State and Texas A&M. “It felt like family up there. I couldn’t really build other relationships like I could at Clemson. Everything was smooth up there.”

With his commitment, Terrell became the fifth member of Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class, joining fellow cornerback and another Peach State native in St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star Branden Strozier.

There’s already a relationship there as Terrell told us that he and Strozier train together.

Terrell is not planning on being an early enrollee. So when he arrives on campus about a year from now, what can Clemson fans expect out of him?

“A dog. A humble beast. A leader. A vocal leader, all that,” he said. “Respectful. Lit. Turnt.”

While Terrell was not at Clemson’s official visit weekend from June 3-5, The Clemson Insider learned that he will instead be taking his official visit for the South Carolina game on Nov. 26.

Vizzina details official visit experience 

The Clemson Insider caught up with Briarwood Christian (Alabama) four-star quarterback commit Christopher Vizzina, who detailed this past weekend’s official visit in an interview Monday.

“I knew it was going to be a fun weekend going in, but we were all blown away about how much fun we had and just the experience it was,” Vizzina said. “I think we really opened a lot of people’s eyes. The certain things that Coach Swinney says, he always has those long speeches, but he really elaborates on everything. Walking out, of course, I know what he’s all about, but the people that haven’t been there that many times walked away knowing what he really believes and everything.”

Vizzina is in agreement with St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star cornerback commit Branden Strozier, who told us yesterday that he believes the 2023 class is “about to heat up.”

“Absolutely,” he replied. “Like I said, I think this opened a lot of people’s eyes. I think after this weekend we should add some guys.”

Vizzina got a chance to put on his recruiting cap this weekend and really recruit some guys in person. A lot of that groundwork has happened through texting and over social media and whatnot, but this past weekend’s official visit allowed for him to do more of that and then some in person.

“That was one of my favorite things,” Vizzina said. “All the guys there were guys I’ve been texting throughout the past two months after I committed. Just getting to know them on text was cool, but to really hang out with these guys and get to know them off the field, that was one of the best things.”

Clemson’s staff views Vizzina as the leader of this class.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney brought Vizzina into his office on Friday.

“He sat me down and told me everyone that’s here, what they look like, where they’re from, what position, how many spots we have for that position and the people that he thought were really close,” Vizzina said. “I know that he thinks of me as the leader of the class and he knows I’m gonna give my best effort to get everybody we need.”

What does that mean to Vizzina?

“Me and him talk all the time about just all the recruiting things,” Vizzina continued. “Like I said, we talked about who is close and everything. I think he trusts me to really get on some guys, but really recruit them while we were hanging out. That’s what I wanted too. When I committed, I told everybody that I wanted to be the leader of the class.”

Vizzina informed us that a group chat was created for the 31 official visitors and everyone was pretty active in it, which he said made it that much more fun when they all got to meet each other in person.

“That group chat set the tone for the whole visit,” he said.

Vizzina is confident that Clemson should be adding some guys after this weekend.

5-star pass rusher talks Clemson offer

When Clemson formally turned the page to offering prospects in the 2024 class on Wednesday and started doling out offers to rising junior recruits, one of the first to report an offer from the Tigers was Buford (Ga.) 2024 five-star edge rusher Eddrick Houston.

“It was crazy for them to offer me this early,” Houston told The Clemson Insider on Sunday, regarding receiving the offer. “I was just amazed that my hard work paid off to get an early offer from them.

The nation’s No. 28 overall prospect in his class, per the 247Sports Composite, Houston announced the offer from the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon following a conversation with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.

Houston was on campus with his teammate KJ Bolden, a fellow five-star and the nation’s No. 1 athlete in the class of 2024.

“We both got it at the same time and it was like the last offer we both wanted,” Houston said. 

“We know how hard it is to get an offer from Clemson and we were both excited when we heard the news. We couldn’t hold in our smiles, especially after we got an offer from Clemson.”

More on a Cincinnati commit who impressed at Swinney Camp

One of the most impressive wide receivers during the first two days of Dabo Swinney Camp this past week was Powell (TN.) 2023 three-star Ayden Greene.

And while Greene committed to the University of Cincinnati on his official visit this past weekend, we still wanted to pass along some updates on where Clemson stands with the impressive wideout.

The rising Volunteer State wideout impressed, as he was out to prove himself. His route running ability immediately jumped off the page, as well as his sure hands, as he was catching passes from some of the most talented signal-callers in the nation.

“It was great,” Greene told The Clemson Insider regarding his experience at Wednesday’s Swinney Camp. “I heard many things from Coach (Tyler) Grisham. He helped me critique things in my route running that will take my game to another level.”

According to Greene, Grisham said that he performed “great” and that Clemson’s wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator will be in touch. This weekend, the Tigers hosted four wide receivers in the 2023 class on their official visits, including Edison (Miami, Fla.) four-star commit Nathaniel Joseph.

Generally speaking, if Clemson offers a recruit, it wants that offer to be committable. Though, Clemson did hand out an offer to Rockwall (TX.) four-star WR Noble Johnson, after he participated in the afternoon session of Thursday’s Swinney Camp.

When we spoke to Greene prior to him camping at Clemson, we asked him what it would mean to get a potential offer from a school like Clemson.

“It would mean a whole lot to me and my family,” Greene said at the time. “I don’t necessarily have a favorite team. I’ve never grown up having a favorite team or anything, but Clemson has always been somebody that I’ve kept up with, I’ve watched, I’ve always had an interest in…Me and my family, it’s always been a bucket list offer to get. It’d be pretty major.”

Heading into Wednesday, Greene was hopeful that he would leave with an offer, but he also wanted to leave feeling confident about what he showed he was capable of to Grisham

“I feel like I did great,” he said afterward. “I went my hardest and I left feeling good about it.”

When we asked Greene if he had discussed a potential offer with Clemson during his camp visit, he told us, “Time will tell.”

“I loved Clemson,” Greene added. “It’s (an) even better place than I thought it would be.”

For all intents and purposes, these interview(s) with Greene were conducted before he announced his commitment on Saturday.

Rising Peach State OL talks Swinney Camp experience

This big offensive lineman from the Peach State, who recently participated in Day 2 of the Dabo Swinney Camp, has seen his recruitment blow up over the past month.

Gabriel Fortson received his first offer from Georgia Tech on May 2. Between then and May 19, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising senior from North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) racked up 18 more offers, including ACC and SEC offers from North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri.

Fortson participated in Thursday’s Swinney Camo and detailed his experience with The Clemson Insider. Forston also provided some of the feedback that received from Thomas Austin.

“He liked the way that I’m physical off the ball,” Fortson said of Clemson’s offensive line coach. “He said that I have great feet. He likes the way my hips move and everything.”

“He loved everything about me at camp,” Fortson continued. “He said he’ll give me a call within a couple of weeks or so and follow backup and things like that.”

What would it mean to Fortson if Clemson pulled the trigger on a potential scholarship offer?

“It’d mean a lot,” he said. “It’d immediately be one of my top schools in the list…I’d love to be a part of it.”

Staff Writer Gavin Oliver contributed to this week’s edition of The Insider Report.

Georgia OL has seen recruitment explode this month; excited to compete at Swinney Camp

This big offensive lineman from the Peach State has seen his recruitment blow up this month. Gabriel Fortson received his first offer from Georgia Tech on May 2. Between then and May 19, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising senior from North Cobb …

This big offensive lineman from the Peach State has seen his recruitment blow up this month.

Gabriel Fortson received his first offer from Georgia Tech on May 2. Between then and May 19, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising senior from North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) racked up 18 more offers, including ACC and SEC offers from North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri.

“It’s been going great, honestly,” Fortson said of the recruiting process in a recent interview with The Clemson Insider. “It all just kind of started happening about two weeks ago, and I started blowing up and then I ended up with 19 offers in two weeks.

“Honestly, it’s just been a blessing. I don’t even have words to explain it.”

Besides those that have already offered, schools such as Vanderbilt and Clemson are showing interest in Fortson.

The class of 2023 prospect has been communicating with Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin, as well as offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter.

“I was first in contact with Clemson around this time last year, but I just didn’t have the film out for them to start talking to me truly and stuff like that,” Fortson said. “And now that I have all the film out and my name started going out a little bit more, they started talking to me a little bit more. Me and Coach Austin have a good relationship going right now.”

What has Fortson been hearing from Austin overall?

“He’s been wanting me to go to camp and he just wants to see me in person and everything,” Fortson said, “and I plan on going to camp on (June) 2.”

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” he added. “I can’t wait.”

Fortson describes himself as a “really physical” offensive lineman who loves “finishing plays” and posting pancake blocks.

The first-team all-state performer has a simple goal as he gets ready to compete at the Dabo Swinney Camp next week – to show the coaches, he said, “that I can play.”

“Honestly, I just want to show them that I have the ability to play at that level,” he said.

Fortson also participated in the Swinney Camp last summer and came away impressed after his time around Clemson’s coaching staff.

“Honestly, the coaches just treat you like regular people,” he said. “They don’t treat you any higher or any lower, which is something I really like, and it’s really awesome to me to see that.”

Fortson made a couple of game-day visits to Clemson during last season, as well.

“It’s so much fun there on gamedays,” he said. “Like, so much fun.”

Having the chance to actually play for Clemson on gamedays in the future, should he receive an offer from the Tigers moving forward, would be a dream come true for Fortson.

“It would mean a lot, honestly. It truly is one of my dream schools,” he said. “So, to be able to say I have an offer there and have the opportunity to play there would be amazing.”

Added Fortson: “Even after the camp, I saw that it was just a great place to be. It was just such a family environment that you couldn’t help but want to be there, you know.”

In addition to Clemson, Fortson will make his way to Vanderbilt, Georgia, UCF, NC State, East Carolina and North Carolina for camps and/or visits in June.

–Photo courtesy of Gabriel Fortson on Twitter (@Gabriel_5077)