Tag: Mike Matthews

Auburn offers 5-star 2024 recruit Mike Matthews in football and basketball

He is one of the top football recruits in the country but Bruce Pearl wants him for his ability on the hardwood.

[autotag]Mike Matthews[/autotag] is one of the premier recruits in the 2024 recruiting class. A five-star athlete in football he is also a talented basketball player and on Friday Auburn extended him a scholarship offer to play both football and basketball.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder has the ability to play either wide receiver or safety at the next level.

He is the No. 3 overall recruit and No. 1 athlete in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 1 player from Georiga.

He caught 48 passes for 1,030 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior for Parkview High School. On defense, he made 20 tackles and picked off one pass as a safety.

He does not have a ranking in basketball but has reported an offer from Mississippi State and plays shooting guard.

Auburn signed Tre Donaldson as a dual-sport athlete in the 2022 recruiting class but he elected to just play basketball.

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Five-star Mike Matthews ‘had great time at Tennessee’

Five-star Mike Matthews “had great time at Tennessee.”

Third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and his staff continue to recruit future Vols.

Heupel has compiled a 18-8 (10-6 SEC) record in two seasons as the Vols’ head coach. He was hired as Tennessee’s head coach in Jan. 2021.

Where Josh Heupel’s Tennessee offense ranks nationally in 2022

2022 early signing period: A look at Tennessee’s signees

The Vols offered 2024 wide receiver prospect Mike Matthews on May 13, 2022.

He visited Tennessee Saturday for junior day.

“Had great time at Tennessee,” Matthews announced. “Blessed and thankful for the opportunity!”

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Matthews is from Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia. The wide receiver and safety is rated as a five-star with 247Sports.

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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.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce limited edition signed cards from the freshmen football players are now in our online store. There are only 100 of each signed.

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5-star, nation’s No. 1 athlete will be at Clemson this weekend

Clemson is set to play host to one of the nation’s best prospects in the class of 2024 this weekend. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) five-star Mike Matthews announced via social media Thursday evening that he’ll be in The Valley for Clemson’s first night …

Clemson is set to play host to one of the nation’s best prospects in the class of 2024 this weekend.

Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) five-star Mike Matthews announced via social media Thursday evening that he’ll be in The Valley for Clemson’s first night game of the season against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

When June 1 rolled around, it didn’t take long for Matthews to have an offer from Clemson in his inbox.

“I was very excited,” Matthews told The Clemson Insider regarding receiving an offer from Clemson earlier this summer. “It’s very important for me for a school like that to offer me. It shows how they feel about me as a player.”

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.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce limited edition signed cards from the freshmen football players are now in our online store. There are only 100 of each signed.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Friday Night Notes: Florida Gators climbing, top ’24 recruit makes his case, plus more

Florida also got commitments from two highly-ranked defensive tackles from the 2023 class.

USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school football recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.

Last week in the recruiting landscape, the biggest riser was Texas, which scored a commitment from top-two running back recruit Cedric Baxter Jr. This week, the biggest beneficiaries of the news cycle were the Florida Gators, who had a very strong run of recruiting.

Over the last several days, Florida’s defense has scored commitments from three of ESPN’s top 300 recruits.

The most recent addition to the pool is Woodward Academy (Ga.) linebacker Myles Graham, who is the son of former Florida and NFL running back Earnest Graham. Graham (6-foot-1, 212 pounds) is a four-star recruit who is composite-ranked No. 2 among linebackers and No. 52 overall in the nation.

Hale McGranihan, 247Sports

Florida also got commitments from two highly ranked defensive tackles from the 2023 class: Kelby Collins from Gardendale (Ala.) and Will Norman from IMG Academy (Fla.). Collins posted 16 sacks last season and is their highest-ranked recruit among Seniors.

Together, these two recruits helped push the Gators up three spots from No. 13 to No. 10 in 247Sports’ composite team rankings.

Billy Napier might also be in a position to snap up another top 2024 recruit who just changed his mind about his college commitment…

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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Elite Peach State safety scores Clemson offer

Clemson has extended an offer to the top-ranked safety prospect in the 2024 class. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) four-star safety Mike Matthews announced the offer from the Tigers via social media Thursday morning. Matthews (6-3, 180) is ranked as high as …

Clemson has extended an offer to the top-ranked safety prospect in the 2024 class.

Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) four-star safety Mike Matthews announced the offer from the Tigers via social media Thursday morning.

Matthews (6-3, 180) is ranked as high as the No. 1 safety and the nation’s No. 10 overall prospect in the 2024 class by 247Sports.

The Clemson Insider spoke with Matthews recently and asked him what a potential scholarship offer from the Tigers would mean.

“It would mean everything,” he said. “It would just add on to another reason why I work hard and keep my head down.”

 

4-star Peach State athlete ‘loved the energy’ at Clemson

The Clemson Insider caught up with a talented Peach State athlete who was at Clemson for the first time last weekend. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) four-star Mike Matthews – a 6-foot-3, 180-pound sophomore in the class of 2024 – was on campus at Clemson …

The Clemson Insider caught up with a talented Peach State athlete who was at Clemson for the first time last weekend.

Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) four-star Mike Matthews — a 6-foot-3, 180-pound sophomore in the class of 2024 – was on campus at Clemson for an unofficial visit Saturday, March 12.

“The visit was real good,” Matthews said. “I loved all the facilities and then everything they put us through. Got to see the practice, saw all the players. It was nice.

“My favorite part had to be seeing all the energy during the practice. I think they were doing a quick little two-minute drill and I just loved the energy that both sides had and the sense of urgency.”

What did Matthews hear from Clemson’s coaching staff while he was on campus?

“They was really just talking about how life is down at Parkview, their expectations and all the things they put their players through,” he said.

Matthews spent the majority of his time around Clemson co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Mickey Conn.

“He was just telling me how I’m at the top of his board and how he likes what he sees in me,” Matthews said.

He knows that the Tigers like him as a defensive back, but he also thinks they like him as a wideout too. Matthews watched both Clemson’s wide receivers and defensive backs go through practice while he was on campus.

He still has time to figure out what position he’ll play at the next level. Matthews will play either side of the ball, it doesn’t really matter to him. He considers himself as very energetic and explosive and a player that can bring a lot of energy to the team.

Clemson has been recruiting Matthews for a good minute now. The Tigers have always had their eyes on him and he’s been receiving a lot of mail from them. He estimates that he’s been hearing from Clemson for about 4-5 months now.

Matthews is looking at getting to Clemson towards the end of the month of March and if not, he’ll be back to camp this summer.

Clemson does not offer rising juniors until June 1 prior to their junior season. That was brought up to Matthews during his visit and that level of honesty goes a long way.

“I’m very appreciative,” he said. “There’s really no rush because I’m only in my sophomore year. I’m just blessed to be in this position. It would mean the world to me. I’ve always liked Clemson since I was growing up.”

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