Tag: Swinney Camp

Swinney Camp Notebook: Day 3, Afternoon Session

The Clemson Insider was on hand for Day 3 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Friday, June 10. Here are our notes and observations from the afternoon session of Friday’s Swinney Camp. One of the most impressive athletes out there Friday afternoon was Yulee …

The Clemson Insider was on hand for Day 3 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Friday, June 10. Here are our notes and observations from the afternoon session of Friday’s Swinney Camp.

  • One of the most impressive athletes out there Friday afternoon was Yulee (Fla.) three-star safety Landon Hale (pictured above). We’ve maintained that Hale is an offer candidate and he certainly looked the part. After making an unofficial to Oklahoma and Florida, Hale’s at Clemson Friday-Sunday.
    • Hale was accompanied by his parents, as well as his brother, Rylan. The younger Hale brother is listed by recruiting services as a tight end, but we can tell you that Clemson, as well as several other programs, wants him to work out at the linebacker position. That’s exactly where Rylan was working out during the afternoon session.
    •  Landon will be making an unofficial visit to the United States Naval Academy come next week to see and then take an official visit to Harvard.
    • TCI recently spoke with Landon and you can read more about him and his recruitment at the link below:
  • The most noticeable prospect out there was Mountain View (Lawrenceville, Ga.) 2024 four-star defensive lineman Justin Greene. He was easy to spot and definitely was the most dominant guy out there. His body type was just different from the rest of the defensive linemen out there.
  • TCI learned that The Loomis Chaffee School’s (Windsor, CT.) 2024 four-star defensive lineman Jerod Smith and 2024 four-star edge Jacob Smith were both at Clemson for the first time today. We will have more on the two brothers who were on campus for an unofficial visit Friday.
    • Jerod (6-3, 240) is pegged by 247Sports as the nation’s No. 8 defensive lineman and nation’s No. 55 overall prospect regardless of position in the 2024 class, while 247 considers Jacob (6-5, 225) to be the No. 7 edge rusher and the nation’s No. 72 overall prospect.
  • As we reported earlier, both Navarre (Fla.) 2024 four-star linebacker Zavier Hamilton and Pine Forest (Pensacola, Fla.) 2023 three-star wide receiver Donielle “Nuke” Hayes will be on campus today. Though, they won’t be arriving until later this afternoon and will be practicing tonight.

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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.

Swinney Camp Notebook: Day 2, Afternoon Session

The Clemson Insider was on hand for Day 2 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Thursday, June 2. Here are our notes and observations from the afternoon session of Thursday’s Swinney Camp. – Rockwall (Texas) 2023 four-star wide receiver Noble Johnson …

The Clemson Insider was on hand for Day 2 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Thursday, June 2. Here are our notes and observations from the afternoon session of Thursday’s Swinney Camp.

— Rockwall (Texas) 2023 four-star wide receiver Noble Johnson (pictured above) arrived for the afternoon session of Thursday’s Swinney Camp. Johnson, who 247Sports considers to be the No. 41 ranked receiver in the class of 2023, is believed to be a prime contender for a potential offer. His arrival on campus didn’t go noticed and he quickly and not so quietly became the sole focus of the top receiver group.

— Another prospect that we think could be offered later this evening is North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.) 2023 three-star defensive back Khalil Barnes. He worked out during the morning session and informed TCI that Mickey Conn just wanted him to watch the afternoon portion of events and that they would be talking later.

— We continued to be impressed with East Lincoln (Denver, N.C.) 2023 three-star linebacker Ben Cutter, who was hands down one of the best prospects on campus Thursday. Cutter has worked on speed training and agility this past offseason and certainly looks the part.

— Carrollwood Day School (Tampa, Fla.) four-star cornerback Tavoy Feagin did not work out Thursday, but we did see him being escorted by a recruiting staffer. He served as a spectator after picking up an offer from the Tigers Wednesday.

— While we previously reported that Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic 2024 four-star tight end Jack Larsen would be visiting Thursday, we did not mention that he would not be arriving until 3 p.m. this afternoon. That’s because Larsen was finishing his end-of-year exams and couldn’t make the camp. Larsen is certainly a player we could see being offered, once Clemson dishes out a tight end offer in the class of 2024.

— Some other wide receiver prospects that stood out and that we view to be a bit underrated are Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) three-star Zion Agnew and 2023 athlete Adonis McDaniel, as well as Paetow (Katy, Texas) 2023 WR Justin Stevenson. We recently wrote on Stevenson, whose recruitment is expected to take off this summer and he will soon be rated among the top 100 players in a state that’s rich with talent.

— IMG Academy’s (Bradenton, Fla.) 2025 WR Winston Watkins received a lot of attention from Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham during the afternoon session.

— We messaged briefly with Moody (Ala.) 2023 three-star WR Davion Dozier, who told us that he thought everything this morning went good and that he had a great camp. According to Dozier, Grisham said he was glad that he came because he wanted to see how he could move. Dozier moved better than Grisham thought he would as a bigger body. Grisham also told him that he’ll stay in touch and he’s ready to see what Dozier does this upcoming season.

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5-star Texas QB locks in Clemson visit

The Clemson Insider has learned that one of Clemson’s top quarterback targets in the class of 2024 has locked in a visit for next week. Willis (Texas) five-star DJ Lagway informed TCI Friday morning that he will be at Clemson on June 2. He’ll have …

The Clemson Insider has learned that one of Clemson’s top quarterback targets in the class of 2024 has locked in a visit for next week.

Willis (Texas) five-star DJ Lagway informed TCI Friday morning that he will be at Clemson on June 2. He’ll have the chance to throw in front of Brandon Streeter and Clemson’s head coach Dabo Swinney on the second day of Swinney Camp.

When we spoke with Lagway earlier this month, he indicated that a scholarship offer from Clemson could come when he visits campus in June. He’s had those conversations about a potential offer dating back to when he visited in April.

“That was a conversation we had from the very beginning since I got there when I got down there on campus when I went to Coach Swinney’s house,” Lagway said. “It’s just the way they run things, they just want to keep the process smooth and keep the way they’ve been doing things.”

“That would be huge,” he continued. “That would be a blessing to have an offer from Clemson and all that good stuff. It would change a lot with my top five.”

In addition to Clemson, Lagway is looking to visit Oklahoma, Oregon and probably Alabama.

“I’m just trying to go see all the out-of-state schools that I’m interested in,” Lagway said, “just to give them a chance as well. Because, I’m really open to anything and everything, just to see where I feel like I’m at home and where I’m most comfortable.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of @derek.lagway on Instagram.