Tag: Mickey Conn

Peach State WR with Clemson ties says chance to play for Tigers ‘would be amazing’

A talented prospect with a couple of ties to the Clemson football program made his way to Tiger Town earlier this summer. Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.) wide receiver Darren Coleman – a rising junior in the class of 2024 – traveled to campus …

A talented prospect with a couple of ties to the Clemson football program made his way to Tiger Town earlier this summer.

Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.) wide receiver Darren Coleman – a rising junior in the class of 2024 – traveled to campus June 1 to participate in the first session of the Dabo Swinney Camp.

It marked the second straight summer that Coleman camped at Clemson.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “I was able to go there for the second year in a row and learned a lot from a lot of the coaches, like (wide receivers) coach (Tyler) Grisham and (graduate assistant) Artavis Scott – just a lot of learning the coaching points. Even in one-on-ones, routes on air, they were helping me through the whole thing, even stuff I needed to work on.”

What kind of feedback did Coleman get from Grisham and Scott about his camp workout?

“What they told me, they said I did really good,” he said. “But during the camp, even if I caught a ball, Coach Grisham or Artavis Scott, they would come over to me and tell me what I needed to do to fix it to where I can get more open or what I did too much of, to basically just cut out the extra steps.”

Coleman started out at the camp with the group of rising juniors in the 2024 class. But the coaches thought enough of what they saw from Coleman to move him into the group of seniors.

“Towards the end, I was running with the seniors,” he said. “It made me feel really good because it made me feel like I was actually showing them my potential and they were actually paying attention and watching me. So, to make that little transition (where) I’m up with the older kids, but I still had to work and do the same thing.”

Coleman has a connection to Clemson co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Mickey Conn, who coached Coleman in little league and was the head coach at Grayson for 16 seasons prior to joining Swinney’s staff in March 2016.

Coleman also has a relationship with Clemson sophomore running back Phil Mafah, a former teammate of Coleman at Grayson who accompanied Coleman and Grisham on a tour of the facilities when Coleman camped at Clemson last year.

“We used to talk a lot when he was with the team,” Coleman said of Mafah. “He was very nice, kind. It wasn’t like he was stuck up and cocky – he was talking to everybody, even though he was a senior, really good, but he was just nice to everybody. So we did talk, and every time I come there, he always daps us up and talks to us for a little bit. So, it’s always nice to meet him again.”

Coleman, who picked up his first offer from Morehouse College in late June, feels he has a lot to offer college football programs as a wideout in the future.

“I feel like my precise route-running and also my speed and able to get open and get separation,” he said.

Coleman expects to be back in Tiger Town this fall to take in a game at Death Valley.

The chance to actually suit up for the Tigers in Death Valley down the road would be a dream come true for him.

“Having a chance to play at Clemson, that would be amazing, that would be great,” he said. “Even getting an offer, because they’re a top school, they have a really good football program and they have a really good academic program – not just football, they have a very great academic program. They major in engineering and finance, that’s what I (want to) major in. So, I would be able to do good in school and also football, too. So, getting an offer from Coach Swinney would be amazing.”

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Conn discusses Venables’ health, junior safety’s decision to stay at Clemson

As Mickey Conn sat down to begin his availability with the media Tuesday inside the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex, the first question for Clemson’s safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator was regarding the health of his position group, …

As Mickey Conn sat down to begin his availability with the media Tuesday inside the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex, the first question for Clemson’s safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator was regarding the health of his position group, particularly Tyler Venables.

After undergoing a hip procedure earlier this offseason, Venables suffered a pectoral injury that also required surgery. The junior safety tore his pectoral muscle doing bench press towards the end of spring practice.

“He’ll be back full speed,” Conn said Tuesday. “So, I’m gonna have a full slate when we get started in August.”

Conn was asked about his reaction regarding Venables’ decision to stay at Clemson, rather than transfer and follow his father to Norman.

“I was a little bit surprised,” Conn said. “I thought that he might go with his dad, but I’m proud that he stayed. I’m thankful that Coach V trusts me with his son. I feel responsible to help develop him, not only on the field but off the field as a young man too. because his dad’s entrusting me with that. I’m very grateful to Coach V for this opportunity to work with Tyler.”

How did his teammates feel about?

“He’s got a lot of friends on the team and I think that was a big part of him staying,” Conn continued. “To be here with his friends — that whole recruiting class — and to stay with those guys. I think he’s roommates with DJ (Uiagalelei) and Bryan Bresee and RJ Mickens, they’re a really tight group. Those guys are really excited to have him back.

Conn added that he, Wesley Goodwin and Dabo Swinney, are all excited to have Venables back in the mix at safety.

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What We Heard: Mickey Conn

Mickey Conn, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, spoke at Clemson’s media day on Tuesday. Speaking with reporters, Conn focused on the versatility of Clemson’s defense in the fall and how different players can use their physicality and …

Mickey Conn, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, spoke at Clemson’s media day on Tuesday. Speaking with reporters, Conn focused on the versatility of Clemson’s defense in the fall and how different players can use their physicality and speed to adapt to those different positions. 

Question: When you’re looking at Andrew Mukuba, Trenton Simpson, and some others, is the versatility from the entire defense rare?

Conn: “Throw R.J. Mickens in the mix and Tyler Venables in the mix, too. You ask them to do a lot of different things. Malcolm Greene. You have guys that can play a lot of different positions and it gives them the chance to be here and play. This gives us a chance as coaches to use them as different personnel groups that will help us be successful. All these guys we are talking about can really, really run and change directions. Credit to them for getting in the film room and learning it and learning the different spots.”

Q: When you have someone like Nolan Turner leave for the NFL, how does this position group as a whole replace that kind of experience?

Conn: “He gave us such great leadership. Those guys sitting under him, humbly waiting, those guys are ready to go. Take a guy like Jalyn Phillips, who has really benefitted from Nolan’s leadership and seeing how Nolan came up to — Nolan was a 2-star guy that everybody thought was just cheering to be here and he turned out to be an all-conference, All-American type player. Those guys have really learned from him and those guys have taken over some leadership roles he left behind. Just paving the way.”

Q: Andrew [Mukuba] said in the spring, you may see me at safety, you may see me at nickel, you might see me all over the field…

Conn: “He’s a good corner, too. He can do a lot of things. When you got a physical guy like that who can run, he’s a match-up problem for offenses, because he can match up with your best guy. And you know a lot of guys, that’s what they want to do. They want to get a match-up with a linebacker or safety and Mukuba’s the type of guy that can cover. He covers like a corner and hits like a linebacker.”

Q: To follow up, do you think he’s more comfortable closer to the line?

Conn: “I think he’s comfortable anywhere on the field. He’s a really good player. He can even return some kicks and punts sometimes.”

Q: The 2018 defense speaks for itself. Do you have the feeling that this defense is faster? Is this the fastest group you’ve had?

Conn: “I think so, just looking around. This is a really fast defense, especially those linebackers. Those guys can really, really run and that’s what you want. Up front we can really run. Xavier Thomas, those guys coming off the edge, they are really, really fast. Bryan Bresee coming back, Myles Murphy, there will be a lot speed. Get out of the way and let them run.”

Q: You have all this versatility, speed and these adjectives to describe your defense. How do these things make your life easier when crafting a game plan when you sort all of this talent on the defense?

Conn: “Well, we need to make sure we don’t move too many pieces. We need to make sure we hone in on what they are best at. I think as a defensive coordinator this is exciting. I feel like I’m not handcuffed and everybody can stay healthy, knock on wood. I feel like we can play a lot of guys and that’s what we want to do. That’s coach Swinney’s whole philosophy, which is development and playing guys. That’s our whole goal on defense, to have guys in there and train them to play different spots.”

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Rising Peach State DB talks ‘amazing’ Clemson camp experience

A fast-rising Peach State defensive back and a name worth keeping an eye on this season and beyond was on Clemson’s campus last month North Cobb (Kennesaw, Ga.) 2024 defensive back Cayden Trotter participated in the second day of the Dabo Swinney …

A fast-rising Peach State defensive back and a name worth keeping an eye on this season and beyond was on Clemson’s campus last month

North Cobb (Kennesaw, Ga.) 2024 defensive back Cayden Trotter participated in the second day of the Dabo Swinney Camp on June 2.

“It was really good,” Trotter told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview last month. “The structure of the camp and the school was amazing. The coaching staff was all family-oriented. They really coached the kids all well. I did really good in my drills before the 1-on-1s. I had my wins and I had my losses.”

Trotter said that camping at Clemson just helped him improve his game — adding a little more from not only the coaches but the Clemson players that were helping out with Swinney Camp.

What type of feedback did Trotter receive from Clemson’s coaching staff?

“Coach (Mickey) Conn was the one who was coaching me,” Trotter said. “He took my name and my school and wrote it down at the end of camp.”

He worked out at both safety and cornerback, so he had a chance to display his talent in front of the likes of Conn, Mike Reed and DeAndre McDaniel.

If Clemson were to jump into Trotter’s recruitment going forward, what would a potential scholarship offer from the Tigers mean to Peach State defensive back and his recruitment?

“Everything,” Trotter said. “It would mean everything to me because I’ve been going to the school, I went to the game in 2018, I just love Clemson.”

In addition to Clemson, Trotter attended the invite-only University of North Carolina camp. He had a chance to go up against some of the top talents in the area and certainly held his own. It was another notch in the belt for Trotter, who almost certainly improved his stock with some impressive showings this summer.

Trotter is starting to receive more attention from programs around the country but indicated that Sept. 1, will be big for him and his recruitment going forward. With Trotter still being a rising junior, college coaches can’t directly communicate with him, so he’s focused on improving his game and getting better at his craft

He mentioned schools like Pitt and Toledo as schools that have been showing interest up until this point.

Trotter feels like his junior season will be his breakout year, so it’ll be only a matter of time before his recruitment starts taking off.

Getting a better feel for Trotter and his game, he’s a self-described “true defensive back,” who can not only go down in the box but also play free safety, strong safety and the cornerback positions as well.

— Photo for this article courtesy of Cayden Trotter

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Priority safety target updates recruitment, reveals Clemson’s message to him

A Clemson priority safety target has been thinking about winding down his recruitment, although Milton High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star safety Robert Billings doesn’t want to rush anything. Billings is thinking that he would like to take his …

A Clemson priority safety target has been thinking about winding down his recruitment, although Milton High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star safety Robert Billings doesn’t want to rush anything.

Billings is thinking that he would like to take his last couple of official visits and then make a decision from there. He’s been in communication with schools like Florida State, Kentucky and Duke about possibly setting up official visits, but hasn’t set anything in stone just yet.

As far as a decision timeline goes, Billings doesn’t necessarily have to have a decision made before the start of his senior season. He indicated that as long as he has a spot somewhere, he’ll be OK.

With that being said, what has Clemson’s message been to the priority Peach State safety?

“They’ve been telling me how they feel about me and how they want me to make the decision,” Billings told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview this week. “Coach (Mickey) Conn, we’ve been on the phone a lot recently. He’s been telling me where I would play, like what position he wants me to learn. He wants me to play free safety and eventually learn strong safety.

“They’ve just been showing me love, like they always do,” he added.

Every time we speak with Billings, it seems like his relationship just continues to improve with Conn.

Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach is trying to get Billings, who officially visited from June 3-5, back on campus for the program’s cookout on July 25. Billings indicated that he will probably go back up to Tiger Town in a little over two weeks now.

That’s been the only official visit that Billings has taken to date. He’s also made unofficial visits this past month to Duke, Ole Miss and Florida State.

When Billings sits down and makes his eventual college decision with his family after taking his official visits, what are going to be some of the more important factors that he’s looking for in a school at the next level?

“Education-wise, I got to get a good education,” Billings said. “Just the relationship with the staff and how they treat my parents. On the official visit, when we went in June, they treated my family very well. No other school has treated my parents, as well as Clemson, has and treated me as well on visits like Clemson has.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of @rob3billings on Instagram.

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Florida safety feels he ‘turned heads’ with impressive Swinney Camp showing

Among the class of 2023 recruits that had the chance to showcase their talent during all three days of Clemson’s overnight camp from June 10-12 was Landon Hale -a 6-foot-2, 191-pound three-star safety out of Yulee (Fla.). “It was amazing,” Hale told …

Among the class of 2023 recruits that had the chance to showcase their talent during all three days of Clemson’s overnight camp from June 10-12 was Landon Hale —a 6-foot-2, 191-pound three-star safety out of Yulee (Fla.).

“It was amazing,” Hale told The Clemson Insider. “My body, though, is extremely tired, sore and hurt. That was one of the toughest camps, mentally and physically, that I’ve done, but the coaching from everybody was just phenomenal. I feel like walking away from that camp I got a ton better in every area of my game.”

What type of feedback did Hale get from Clemson’s coaching staff?

“Each coach I worked with said I looked very good,” he said, “including Coach (Mickey) Conn. They were very impressed with my footwork and how coachable I was…even on one rep, Coach Dabo, he was even like, ‘Good job, Landon! Way to take coaching,’ because anything they would tell me, I was able to fix it the next rep and just get better.”

Regarding a potential offer, Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach told Hale’s parents that he has a very good shot. While Hale was on campus, he texted over his spring film and Conn told him that he was very impressed by what he saw.

“I think it’s coming, but it’s just gonna take time,” Hale said. “Obviously, having that safety that’s committed there (Kylen Webb) kind of puts a little more pressure on me, but you know what? I’m just willing to wait, trust God’s timing and if this is where I’m supposed to be, he’ll open this door.”

“It would mean a ton,” he said regarding a potential offer from the Tigers, “and I’ve already proven to them like, ‘You want to see me at a three-day camp? Cool, I’ll come. You want me to come up for a visit? I’ll come.’ I’m committed and I think some coaches took notice of that.”

At the end of the day, Hale feels like he can hang his hat on the fact that the ball is in Clemson’s court.

“I laid everything I had out there and Coach Conn noticed that,” he said. “I gave 110% every drill, every rep, every session. Looking back, there’s nothing I could’ve done better or gone harder at because I gave everything I had. I think I turned heads from every coach that was there, even all the other schools that were, like Furman and Chattanooga, all those other schools, they’ve been hitting me up too.”

Furman’s secondary coach, Corico Wright, was one of the coaches that helped out during the three-day session of Swinney Camp. Wright called Hale on Monday and told him that he was very impressed with him. He also told him that not many guys in his situation with how many offers he has would’ve come to a three-day camp.

Hale picked up his latest offer from Furman on Tuesday.

There should be more to come, though.

Looking back at it now, Hale is thrilled that he elected to participate in the three-day overnight camp at Clemson.

“I learned a ton every day and I feel like I got better,” Hale said. “When everybody was complaining or tired or they were saying they were sore, I just kept my head down and worked. I didn’t complain. I didn’t do nothing. I just did it again and did it again, every rep and every drill and I just got better and better.

“I was able to take coaching and in each session in the 1-on-1s, I kept doing better. That’s even what Coach Conn said. He noticed that my weave was better towards the last 1-on-1 sessions and I was doing better about my kick step and sliding…I think they can just tell that I’m a very coachable guy and that I love coaching and I embrace it. Whenever I get feedback, I apply it. I don’t just let it fall on deaf ears, I listen and apply it.”

Prior to Clemson, Hale took an unofficial visit to the University of Florida. At the time of our conversation with Hale, he had just made it to his hotel. His plans were to make an unofficial visit to the United States Naval Academy, as well as the University of Virginia.

If everything goes according to plan, Hale should be able to earn his first Power Five offer from Tony Elliott’s program.

As far as official visits go, Hale is weighing his options. Harvard, Ohio and FIU all want him to take an official, but he wants to hold onto some of those officials with the potential of schools like Clemson, Florida, Virginia and Oklahoma all entering his recruitment.

Nation’s No. 1 safety talks ‘very important’ Clemson offer

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with a newly offered Peach State athlete, who reported an offer from Clemson last week. When June 1 rolled around, it didn’t take long for Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) four-star Mike Matthews to have an offer from …

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with a newly offered Peach State athlete, who reported an offer from Clemson last week. When June 1 rolled around, it didn’t take long for Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) four-star Mike Matthews to have an offer from Clemson in his inbox.

Matthews spoke with TCI last week and detailed an offer that had been in the works for some time now. He also updated his current recruitment and where Clemson currently stands in the mix of things.

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

Matthews was expecting Clemson to pull the trigger on an offer, mainly because Mickey Conn had been showing a lot of interest and he talked about a potential offer when the Peach State athlete visited back in March. According to Matthews, Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach has been relaying to him for some time now that he’s one of the top guys on his board.

“It was really on my visit (in March),” Matthews said when he first felt like an offer from Clemson was possible. “When I went on my visit it was me and another safety (Noah Dixon) and he told us that we were his favorites. It just means a lot for such a good coach like him to see that in me.”

For Matthews, the offer from Clemson means so much more because of the relationship he was able to build with Conn.

When Clemson formally turned the page to offering prospects in the 2024 class on June 1 and started doling out offers to rising junior recruits, Dixon, a four-star safety out of Troup County High School (Lagrange, Ga.) reported an offer from the Tigers.

Matthews followed suit the following morning.

When we spoke with Matthews at the time of his offer, he indicated that Clemson was at the top of his recruitment. That was, of course, before he made his latest unofficial visit to campus on Tuesday.

Clemson offered Matthews at the safety position, but most schools are split on where they see the multi-faceted athlete at the next level. Matthews said that there are some programs that have offered him with the caveat that they’ll figure out what position he’ll play at the next level later on.

As far as the remainder of his recruitment is concerned, Matthews has tried to plan other visits, in addition to the Clemson one he took Tuesday. Back in May, Matthews told us that he was looking to visit Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Ohio State and Oklahoma. 

Though, with basketball starting back this summer, he’s finding it difficult to plan visits around his schedule.

Matthews mentioned Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and Notre Dame as the schools that are currently recruiting him the hardest.

247Sports considers Matthews (6-3. 180) to be the No. 1 safety and the nation’s No. 10 overall prospect regardless of position in the class of 2024.

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Swinney Camp an ‘eye-opener’ for impressive Georgia DB

Camping at Clemson was a personal confidence booster for Khalil Barnes, a fast-rising three-star defensive back out of Bogart’s (Ga.) North Oconee High School. Barnes – a 6-foot-1, 185-pound rising senior – proved to himself at Thursday’s Dabo …

Camping at Clemson was a personal confidence booster for Khalil Barnes, a fast-rising three-star defensive back out of Bogart’s (Ga.) North Oconee High School.

Barnes — a 6-foot-1, 185-pound rising senior — proved to himself at Thursday’s Dabo Swinney Camp that he was worthy of a Clemson offer, though he returned home without one.

That doesn’t mean a Clemson scholarship offer isn’t coming his way soon, though.

“It was a personal eye-opener for me,” Barnes told The Clemson Insider. “I know the coaches that were there on (Thursday), they were really impressed. They saw me on film, they saw what I did, but for them to see me work in person and move how I move, cover how I cover and everything, I know they were impressed. It was a productive day.”

Barnes worked out during Thursday’s morning session but did not participate in the Swinney Camp that afternoon. Instead, he spectated and talked at length with Clemson senior safety Jalyn Phillips. Conn told him that he did not need to work out during the afternoon portion of events and that they would have an in-depth conversation afterward.

“They didn’t offer, but I had a really good talk with Coach Conn,” Barnes said. “They are kind of waiting to see what happens this weekend if anyone commits. He told me I should know as early as next week or as late as the end of the month if they’re going to do it.

“It’s a business and I can’t be mad at that. I’m honestly really happy with that because (Coach) Conn told me to my face that I can easily play football at Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and all the big places. He also told me I was the best coverage DB they have had at camp all week.”

Conn was honest and upfront with Barnes and his father. According to Barnes, at the end of that whole conversation, Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach said that he would totally understand if they both hated him and Clemson, after having not pulled the trigger on an offer Thursday.

Barnes got into the car and the first thing he told his dad is that Clemson was still a top-five school for him, even without that offer.

“I know a lot of coaches that have offered wouldn’t have had the guts to tell me what he just said in that room and looked me in my eyes and told me,” Barnes said. “He wasn’t even telling me that it’s not gonna come…He thinks I can play at Clemson, Bama, Georgia and all these other schools.”

Conn told Barnes that if he gets those other offers, he doesn’t want him to wait for him because it’s Clemson. At the end of the day, Khalil Barnes has to do what’s best for Khalil Barnes.

According to Barnes, Clemson invited him to be a part of the program’s official visit weekend from June 3-5. While Barnes was flattered, he said that he wouldn’t have felt right taking an official visit to a school that he doesn’t have an offer from yet.

Instead, Barnes came out there on Thursday to prove that his film doesn’t lie.

“My workout videos show that I’m fast, I’m a quick guy with good hips, can cover and got good ball skills,” he said. “I just kind of showed them everything (Thursday) and them telling me I could take the afternoon session off and just kind of get off my feet, it proved to me that I proved to them that I can play.”

All in all, Barnes is expecting an offer in the coming weeks.

Another reason why Clemson didn’t offer Barnes, is the Tigers want to see how this weekend plays out. Conn didn’t want to offer Barnes without that offer being committable. When Conn offers Barnes, he wants the Peach State defensive back to be able to call him back five minutes later with his commitment.

“He doesn’t want there to be any exceptions,” Barnes explained.

Clemson has two guys ahead of Barnes on its board right now. Once those two guys make their decisions, Barnes expects to be getting a call. 

Right now, Barnes has an official visit set to Purdue for next week. He’s talked about setting up other ones, but this is the only one he has locked in at this moment in time.

4-star ATH ‘loved’ Swinney Camp, says Clemson ‘by far’ his dream school

A four-star athlete out of the Tar Heel State camped at Clemson Wednesday, in hopes to prove that he’s an offer-worthy player. While Christ School’s (Arden, N.C.) Zack Myers left the Dabo Swinney Camp without an offer in hand, he certainly put …

A four-star athlete out of the Tar Heel State camped at Clemson Wednesday, in hopes to prove that he’s an offer-worthy player.

While Christ School’s (Arden, N.C.) Zack Myers left the Dabo Swinney Camp without an offer in hand, he certainly put himself in a position to earn one, should the results of the official visit weekend, especially at the defensive back position, not go in Clemson’s favor.

Myers, who 247Sports considers to be the No. 21 athlete in the class of 2023, describes himself as a gadget-type player, who does it all for the Christ School. He confidently said that he feels like he can play any position at the next level, but he’s not just a guy that plays those positions.

The Clemson Insider caught up with Myers shortly after he participated in Wednesday’s camp and later visited.

“Oh man, Clemson it was a joy, it really was,” Myers said. “Coach (Mickey) Conn reached out to me two or three weeks ago through my coach and he said that he would love to get me down to camp. Honestly like, I’m going into my senior year, of course, and with the opportunities, I have right now, I really wasn’t thinking about going to camp too much. When Clesmon reached out wanting me to come to camp, it really motivated me to go out and do my thing (Wednesday). Hopefully, I think I did, but I definitely loved it for sure.”

What type of feedback did Myers get from the coaching staff?

“They definitely know I’m like an athlete, off the football field type of thing,” he said. “They know what I bring to the table. Football-wise, they’ve definitely seen improvements since the season. They definitely said they liked what they saw. I do know that Clemson has a history of only offering if they think you’ll go there. I understand why they’re taking their time because Clemson would definitely be a dream school for me.”

This was Myers’ second time on campus. He camped at Clemson last summer when he was still a prospect in the class of 2024. He has since been reclassified and is now a rising senior. Myers has indicated that there are certainly some positives and negatives to his decision.

Clemson jumping into Myers’ recruitment is almost certainly a positive development.

While he didn’t have a conversation with Clemson about a potential scholarship offer, Conn did tell Myers to reach out later this week. Myers is hopeful that an offer will come sometime down the line.

“Honestly, my goal (Wednesday) was to go there green and leave a Tiger, but obviously I didn’t accomplish that,” Myers said. “I would say that Clemson is by far my dream school and what not. It would mean the world when — because I want to speak it into existence — they extend an offer.”

After Clemson, Myers only has two more unofficial visits scheduled. He’ll be at the University of Alabama this weekend and at Notre Dame later in the month on June 21. Myers also has two officials lined up for this month — N.C. State (June 17) and Virginia Tech (June 24).

He wants to take all five official visits but said it will likely depend on Clemson and possibly a Notre Dame. Myers will likely take those during the season, but also indicated that he went into the summer wanting to be committed prior to his senior season.

His ideal commitment date is the weekend of July Fourth, but he’ll have to see how things play out between now and then.

Peach State safety talks new Clemson offer, recent eye-opening visit

Clemson handed out its latest scholarship offer to a fast-rising Peach State safety late Monday night. The Clemson Insider recently caught up with Putnam County (Eatonton, Ga.) three-star Jalon Kilgore, who reacted to the offer and gave the latest …

Clemson handed out its latest scholarship offer to a fast-rising Peach State safety late Monday night.

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with Putnam County (Eatonton, Ga.) three-star Jalon Kilgore, who reacted to the offer and gave the latest on his recruitment and where Clemson currently stands in the mix of things.

Kilgore — a 6-foot-2, 196-pound rising senior — currently ranks as the nation’s No. 28 safety in the class of 2023, per 247Sports.

Both Mickey Conn and Wesley Goodwin had come by Putnam County on Monday. Clemson’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach had come to talk with Kilgore’s head coach, while Conn was at practice, so he got to see the newly-offered safety practice and run through some drills.

Kilgore’s head coach told him to expect a phone call from Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach, later that evening

“We were just talking through the process and everything because we’ve been keeping in touch for a while now,” Kilgore said. “He said he was just praying about this — this situation — and he offered me. It was a great feeling because I knew eventually that it was going to come.”

“It’s great, because (Coach Conn) told me that they’ve only offered 86 people in this class,” Kilgore continued. “For me to be one of them, that’s a great feeling to know that I’m that guy on their board.”

According to Kilgore, Conn envisions him as a versatile defensive back, who can guard opposing tight ends and running backs. Conn also told Kilgore that he’ll be playing some safety and nickel as well.

“I’m just fast and physical,” he said when asked to describe himself as a player. “I love being aggressive on the defensive side because I know that helps out my game a lot; just have a strong mentality and just going at the ball hard and fast and just playing with everything I got.”

Clemson has shown interest in the Peach State safety dating back to Sept. 1 of last year. Kilgore had been texting with Conn during the early half of his junior season and they’ve maintained steady contact since then.

Kilgore attended Clemson’s Orange & White Spring Game on April 9, which certainly helped him earn Monday’s offer. According to Kilgore, Conn told him then that Clemson was going to start speeding up the recruitment process.

After Kilgore went to Clemson’s spring game, he started to get in contact a little bit more with both Conn and Goodwin and has since built some pretty strong relationships with the two Clemson coaches.

Now that Kilgore is in possession of a Clemson offer, where do the Tigers currently stand in his recruitment?

“They’re really good on my board right now,” he said. “I’d say they are one of my top schools right now because after just learning about what they told me at the spring game, their education program, their graduation rate and I know they’re also a winning school. That was great just to know and I can get even more information the next time I go and get the full deal.”

Kilgore was blown away by his visit to Clemson last month.

“I learned a lot,” he said. “It really opened up my eyes a little bit more about Clemson. When I was talking to Coach Conn, he was telling me about their graduation rate, which is 98%…they also have a 100% job rate. After you go to Clemson and graduate from Clemson, there’s a 100% chance that you’re gonna get a pretty good job and have a life after football.”

Kilgore is unsure when he’ll visit Clemson next. He estimates that his return trip to Tiger Town should come in the summer, but he hasn’t scheduled anything just yet. He won’t be at Clemson’s official visit weekend from June 3-5. as he’s already set an official visit to the University of Oklahoma that same weekend.

He also has set an official visit to the University of South Carolina from June 10-12.

In addition to the programs mentioned above, Kilgore pinpointed the likes of North Carolina, Liberty, Michigan, Indiana and Florida as the schools currently recruiting him the hardest.

Kilgore said that he should be making his college decision in August, prior to his senior season. When asked what he’s looking for in a school at the next level, Kilgore said he’s searching for a program that can build his mentality and character on and off the field, so he can become a better man.

“Football also doesn’t last forever, so I want to go to a school where I can build a good foundation,” he added, “get a great job afterwards, get to just follow my career. I do have that chance to make it to the NFL; I also want to go to a school where I know they can build my talent and my dreams.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of @jalon.kilgore11 on Instagram.

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