It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report.
We hope everyone had a great weekend and is having a great week so far.
The latest on Christopher Vizzina
As promised, The Clemson Insider has the latest on Clemson’s priority quarterback prospect. TCI was in attendance for Sunday’s Elite 11 Regional Atlanta at Carrollton High School and asked Briarwood Christian (Birmingham, Ala.) four-star Christopher Vizzina a couple of questions then. At the same time, we limited what we asked about Clemson because we wanted him to be able to digest Monday’s visit to Tiger Town.
We spoke with Vizizna over the phone Tuesday afternoon and he offered his reaction to his spring practice visit, what he heard from Clemson’s coaching staff, and much, much more.
“It was great,” Vizzina said. “I really needed to see a practice and that’s what I’ve been trying to do during these visits I’ve been going to. I needed to see a Clemson practice. It was kind of hard for them to really impress me because I’ve seen everything already. I’m sure it’s hard on their part trying to schedule a visit for me, but I’m still impressed with practice and everything and just how Coach Swinney and everybody coaches.
“It was really fun to watch. I really enjoyed being around the quarterbacks and everything. I really got to pick their minds about Clemson and everything. It was a great experience.”
Vizzina said that he spoke with all of Clemson’s quarterbacks — D.J. Uiagalelei, Cade Klubnik, Hunter Helms and Billy Wiles — but it was Uiagalelei who gave him a lot of good wisdom on how to make a decision. According to Vizzina, Uiagalelei didn’t really put any “Clemson bias” on how to make a decision and he really appreciated that.
Beyond that, he got to see how Brandon Streeter ran his offense and how Clemson’s quarterbacks responded to it during Monday’s spring practice.
“I got to sit through their pre-practice meeting and everything before they went out there,” he said. “I liked all the plays that Coach Streeter was calling and all the ones that they were working on. I’m excited to see how that plays out in the spring game and everything.
“Coach Streeter showed me a lot. Really the visit before this one, (Saturday, Jan. 29) he really sat down and showed me how the plays translate to the NFL. I actually got to see these plays run in front of me, the quarterbacks picking up on everything, so I think Coach Streeter’s doing a great job of teaching the offense to everybody and there was a lot of positive feedback from the players about Coach Streeter in his new role.”
Update on Carolinas DT target
We have the latest on Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) four-star Jamaal Jarrett, who spoke to TCI on Monday and dished on his recruitment, as well as what he’s been hearing from the Tigers as of late.
“I talked to Coach (Nick) Eason (Sunday) and he’s just working to see if I can get on a visit in April or May,” Jarrett said. “He’s just really aiming for me to get on the visit, so I can get the offer. He was like they’re d-line U and if I come over there, I can make them even better.”
Jarrett is chomping at the bit to visit Clemson and potentially earn that offer from the Tigers. With that said, what would it mean to him if Clemson did pull the trigger on a potential scholarship offer?
“It would be a blessing, man,” he said. “All my other offers are a blessing, but it would be really cool to go to Clemson, see their facilities, see Payton Page and Bryan Bresee. It would be pretty cool to experience and talk to the players.”
Jarrett is dropping his top six schools in May and he told TCI that he wants Clemson to be in it, along with North Carolina, Georgia and Auburn.
Priority cornerback target locks in official visit
Right before we released this week’s edition of the Insider Report, we spoke with Coppell (Texas) four-star cornerback Braxton Myers, who confirmed his plans to take an official visit to Clemson on Friday, June 3.
“I’m really just keeping in contact with them every one to two days with Coach (Mike) Reed and Coach (Wesley) Goodwin,” Myers said. “We scheduled my official visit for June 3 and really been just talking on a daily basis.”
Myers wants to be committed prior to his senior season, so Clemson wants to ensure that he’s able to take his official visit before he makes his final college decision.
“I guess just like getting around the players more because I haven’t really done that yet,” he said when asked what he’s looking to see on his upcoming official visit.
Myers won’t be able to make Clemson’s spring game on Saturday, April 9; he’ll be at Ole Miss this weekend instead. He’s recently taken visits to Southern Cal, Auburn, Florida State and will also be in Arkansas next weekend.
After dropping his top 12 schools at the beginning of February, Myers told us that he plans on cutting down his list to seven schools at the end of this month. With an official visit to Clemson already set, it’s obvious that the Tigers will be among his final contenders.
“The reason why they made it is just because I’ve been knowing them for a long time and I know that they can develop me on and off the field greatly,” he said, “and I can tell with my recruitment process, they’re always hitting me up and want me to a part of their program at Clemson.”
Priority OL target ready for return trip to Tiger Town this weekend
TCI caught up with one of the Tigers’ top offensive line targets in the 2023 class who recently cut his recruitment down to three schools and is set to be back on campus at Clemson this weekend.
South Point High School (Belmont, N.C.) four-star Sullivan Absher dropped a final three of Clemson, NC State and Notre Dame last Friday, and will return to Tiger Town this Saturday for the Orange & White Spring Game.
Absher (6-7, 300), who received an offer from the Tigers in February, was previously on campus for the program’s second junior day of the year in early March and also visited Clemson for a pair of games last season. He told TCI that he’s been looking to get back on campus as soon as he could after attending the junior day.
“I have such a great experience every time I’m there,” he said.
Absher has built a strong bond with Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin and joked that they were arguing over March Madness for the past couple weeks. Absher told us they talk like Austin has already been his coach for years now, even though Austin was only formally named the Tigers’ new offensive line coach in early February.
As for his recruitment, Absher said he simply felt like narrowing things down to three finalists would eliminate a lot of unnecessary distractions, and added that a big reason he included Clemson among those schools is because of how consistently the program develops its student-athletes at a high level, not only as players but as men as well.
The only other visit Absher currently has scheduled is a trip to Notre Dame on April 23. He’s still hoping to commit sometime prior to his senior season.
Big-time Peach State DL can see himself on Clemson’s defense
This highly regarded Peach State defensive lineman can see himself playing on Clemson’s defensive front in the future.
Mountain View High School (Lawrenceville, Ga.) four-star defensive end Justin Greene – the nation’s No. 3 defensive lineman in the 2024 class, per 247Sports – visited Clemson on March 12 and came away very impressed.
“The facilities were first-class all the way, the staff was amazing and I really made a connection with Coach Hall (defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall) and Coach Eason (defensive tackles coach Nick Eason),” Greene told TCI recently, reflecting on the visit experience. “I like the culture they’re building. I could see myself being a part of their defense.”
Greene is already planning to return to Clemson for the Dabo Swinney Camp in June and hopes to further strengthen his relationship with Clemson’s staff while showing them what he can do on the field.
Along with the Tigers, schools such as Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida State are showing the most early interest in Greene, who has offers from Boston College, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. He describes himself as a “technically sound” defensive end who is explosive off the ball.
“My speed and athleticism paired with my length make me a problem,” he said.
Greene (6-4, 235) is the No. 26 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports.
Strong mutual interest between Clemson, standout safety
There is plenty of mutual interest between Clemson and this promising class of 2024 defensive back who was on campus last month as well.
TCI recently caught up with Jaiden Spearman, a safety prospect who attends The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore visited Clemson in mid-March with his father and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, during which he was able to spend a lot of time with the staff, including Swinney and safeties coach/co-defensive coordinator Mickey Conn.
Spearman really hit it off with Conn.
“He just kept it real,” Spearman said. “I spent most of my time really talking to Mickey. We went to the team’s meeting. I went to watch their practice, and then we sat down in all of the safeties meetings, so I went with the safeties for like two of their meetings. We watched film … and really just spent a lot of time with the staff. Everybody was really, really, really good — everybody. So, it was a great time.”
Like Greene, Spearman plans to participate in the Swinney Camp this summer.
Swinney explained Clemson’s offer process to Spearman and let him know they typically don’t offer prospects early. But the Tigers have expressed their interest, which is certainly reciprocated by Spearman.
“We talked to Dabo, and he explained his thoughts on ‘24s and offering ‘24s,” he said. “I like the amount of time and attention that they put into their evaluations. They both told me that they like my size, my length, my aggressiveness. Mickey, he likes safeties that aren’t afraid to get in the box, that hit, and he said I fit that profile. So, they said they were very interested in me. I told them I’m interested in them. They said that they’re slower than some of the other schools (with offers), and they asked me to keep the relationship going. So, I look forward to coming back.”
While Spearman goes to school in Connecticut, he is from Charlotte and said “it would mean a lot” to get an offer from Clemson in the future.
“I like the coaching staff. They seem like they care about their players,” he said. “It would mean a lot, and then being from the area, it’s always good when you get love from teams around your area.”
Spearman currently holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Connecticut, Florida Atlantic, Michigan, Ole Miss and Purdue.
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