Tag: Mac McLean

In-state receiver recaps ‘amazing’ gameday visit to Clemson, says there’s not atmosphere like Death Valley

An in-state receiver prospect, garnering interest from several FBS programs, made his first-ever gameday visit as a recruit to Clemson for the Tigers’ 35-12 win over Furman on Saturday, Sept. 10. Mac McLean wasn’t sure what his first experience at …

An in-state receiver prospect, garnering interest from several FBS programs, made his first-ever gameday visit as a recruit to Clemson for the Tigers’ 35-12 win over Furman on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Mac McLean wasn’t sure what his first experience at Death Valley as a recruit would be like, but the 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior in the class of 2024 from Greenville (S.C.) High School certainly wasn’t disappointed.

“It’s a whole different perspective from being a fan,” McLean recently told The Clemson Insider. “I got to see everything the football team went through preparing for the game, and after the game, celebrating in the locker room. Just hearing Coach (Dabo) Swinney talk to the team after the game was pretty cool.”

“It was amazing,” he added of his experience. “Probably talking to Coach (Tyler) Grisham (was the highlight of my experience). Right when I got there, he was actually across the street at his office. Within three minutes, he was over there and he came right up to me and talked to me and my dad. It was great.”

Clemson’s wide receivers coach chatted with McLean about his junior season, which is his first significant run time with Greenville’s varsity team. 

“I feel like I’ve done pretty good,” he said. “I’m just trying to do my part, going wherever the coaches need me. I can play inside, and outside on both sides and know the routes for all the plays…Wherever they need a body, they can put me.”

Grisham has been communicating with McLean since the calendar turned to Sept. 1, when college coaches across the country could begin directly contacting junior prospects in the class of 2024.

“It was amazing,” McLean began when asked about Grisham reaching out on Sept. 1. “I’m gonna be honest, I did not stay up until midnight on Sept. 1, but I woke up the next morning and saw that I got a text from him at 12:20. I was very excited.”

In addition to Clemson, McLean has been in contact with schools like Virginia Tech, Florida, Furman and Citadel. He also attended Clemson’s 51-45 double overtime win over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem this past Saturday.

It made McLean realize just how special his experience at Clemson was.

“I realized there is not a gameday atmosphere like Clemson,” he said.

He’s hoping to get back to Clemson and also make visits to both Virginia Tech and Florida. McLean said that he’ll definitely try to get back for Clemson’s game against Syracuse on Oct. 22 or its matchup against the University of Miami on Nov. 19.

Circling back to the Furman game, McLean was paying a lot of attention to the offensive side of the football, not just because he’s an offensive player himself, but his former teammates Collin Sadler and Josh Sapp are both now at Clemson.

“I was really impressed with their offense,” McLean said. “We got to go in their locker room after the game and Dabo was talking about how D.J. (Uiagalelei) had the highest passing rating and (Will) Shipley had a couple of touchdowns, the receivers and everybody did great.”

McLean admitted that getting to be in the locker room postgame was probably the second best part of his first Clemson gameday experience as a recruit.

Photo for this article courtesy Mac McLean.

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In-state wideout ‘loved’ Swinney Camp, details what sets it apart

An under-the-radar wide receiver prospect that resides right in Clemson’s backyard and is currently waiting for his recruitment to take off, participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last month. Greenville (S.C.) High School’s Mac McLean – a 6-foot-2, …

An under-the-radar wide receiver prospect that resides right in Clemson’s backyard and is currently waiting for his recruitment to take off, participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last month.

Greenville (S.C.) High School’s Mac McLean — a 6-foot-2, 190-pound rising junior in the class of 2024 – camped at Clemson on June 2.

“I loved it, to be honest. It was great,” McLean told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview this past Monday. “When we got there, I talked to Coach Grisham and he came to one of our practices during the spring…he said when he came to our practice and watched everybody and he saw me play a little bit and he put me in the purple group. He said after camp that’s why he put me in there.

Clemson separates its campers into different groups usually by grade level and skill level. The orange group is generally the four-and-five-star prospects, while the purple group is considered to be the second-best group, according to McLean.

While Clemson’s wide receivers coach was the main instructor for most of the drills, McLean’s group’s main instructor was Artavis Scott. The former Clemson standout is back in Clemson and on Swinney’s staff in a graduate assistant role.

“After camp, I got to talk to Coach Grisham and Coach Scott,” McLean said. “Coach Grisham, he was really nice. He’s a great dude to talk to. He was telling me that I’m a great player, just keep working and then he told me why he put me in the purple group because he saw me at practice in the spring. I’ll definitely come back to camp next year.”

“They’re both amazing coaches,” McLean added. “Coach Swinney and him told his story, how (Grisham) was a walk-on and played in the NFL and now, he’s coaching at Clemson. If Coach Scott really wanted to, he could be playing professionally right now, but he came back to Clemson to coach. Those two guys are both where everybody at the camp probably wants to be one day. Just learning from them two was a blessing.”

In addition to Clemson, McLean camped at schools like Citadel, Virginia Tech, Wofford and Furman. He also went to the University of South Carolina for a 7-on-7 event with his high school.

After just about every camp he went to, the coaches were intrigued by his prospects, but they want to see what he’s able to put on film during his upcoming junior season. McLean understands that Sept. 1 will be an important date for his recruitment and will allow him to have direct contact with college coaches going forward.

Another takeaway he had from camping at Clemson was just how different Swinney Camp is from the rest.

“I’ve been to six or seven camps this summer and they’re all like the 40-yard dash, shuttle and a bunch of combine stuff,” McLean said. “But, Coach Swinney said at the start that this was a football camp, not an NFL combine. As the camp went on, I really noticed that. The Clemson camp has been the only camp that’s been like that over the summer.”

“I definitely took a lot more away at the Clemson camp than I have at these other camps,” he continued. “I’m not saying anything bad about them, but it was just (more of a learning opportunity).”

WR Hit List currently considers McLean to be a two-star prospect.

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Local product, lifelong Clemson fan eager to prove himself at Swinney Camp

Among the participants at the Dabo Swinney Camp next Thursday, June 2, will be a local product, who projects as a wide receiver/tight end. While Greenville (S.C.) High School’s Mac McLean is a household name just yet, that could change after this …

Among the participants at the Dabo Swinney Camp next Thursday, June 2, will be a local product, who projects as a wide receiver/tight end. 

While Greenville (S.C.) High School’s Mac McLean is a household name just yet, that could change after this summer. He’s a talented athlete without the film to go with it, but he’s also ready to prove himself on the camp circuit this summer.

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with McLean, who signed up to participate in Swinney Camp next week on his own accord. As a life-long Clemson fan, who has had multiple family members attend the University, McLean is more than ready to prove to the coaching staff that he belongs.

“It’s going to mean a lot,” he said. “I’m definitely going to bed early the night before, so I’m ready for camp. I’m gonna give it my all, go hard every rep and definitely talk to all the coaches I can.”

McLean (6-2, 190) envisions that he’ll work out with the wide receivers and Tyler Grisham when he partakes in Swinney Camp next week. While he asked that we label him as a tight end, McLean understands that there likely won’t be a lot of live blocking and that it would probably behoove him to work out at receiver on the camp circuit.

In addition to Clemson, McLean has been invited to camp at Liberty, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and the Old Dominion mega camp, to name a few. McLean told us that he’ll be at Wofford on June 5 and Furman on June 25. He’s also looking to camp at the University of South Carolina this summer.

McLean’s upcoming junior season will be critical for his recruitment going forward. It’s all about him putting together a full season’s worth of film. Rather than getting a chance to start on Greenville’s JV team last season, McLean elected to forego significant playing time and learn from one of the best tight ends in the Palmetto State.

This past season, McLean backed up Clemson’s three-star tight end signee, Josh Sapp.

“I know he didn’t commit to Clemson until the end of our regular season,” McLean said, “but I knew he was gonna end up at a D1 school. I didn’t want to leave that. I had to take that chance.”

“Last year I was soaking up all the information, just watching him practice and learning everything I can,” he continued. “We also got Mazeo Bennett and Tyler Brown — two great receivers. So, I’m just learning from them and doing my best.”

Having the opportunity to learn from a player like Sapp provided McLean with invaluable experience. McLean would watch how Sapp ran his routes in practice and tries to model his game after the Clemson legacy recruit.

“It’s a blessing to be behind such a great player and Greenville (High School), we have a ton of great players and our offense last year was amazing,” McLean said. 

McLean is a natural in the classroom, as he owns a 4.0 GPA, but he’s also a natural athlete.

“I’m hardworking and I’m never gonna quit,” he said when asked to describe himself as a player. “You’re gonna get the best of me every rep, even if we’re down by 20. I’m always going to go at it.”

Greenville has had 50-plus schools stop by during spring practice. McLean said that his head coach, Greg Porter, told teams that inquired about him, that the rising tight end just needs a full season of film under his belt.

— Photo for this article courtesy of Mac McLean.