Tag: Zavier Hamilton

A top athlete from the Sunshine State, with a tie to Clemson, returned to Tiger Town for the Louisiana Tech game this past weekend.

Navarre (Fla.) 2024 four-star linebacker Zavier Hamilton was back on campus last Saturday for Clemson’s 48-20 win over Louisiana Tech, after competing at the Dabo Swinney Camp back in June.

“It was fantastic. I had so much fun,” Hamilton told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Tuesday night. “(What stood out) is the fact that they were playing La. Tech and the entire stadium was still packed out. That was the crazy part for me. It wasn’t like a rivalry game or nothing, but the entire stadium was packed.”

“It was absolutely amazing,” he said of the atmosphere in The Valley. “I couldn’t have even imagined that and it was so much fun.”

While Hamilton is listed as an athlete by several recruiting services, Clemson is looking at the talented Sunshine State prospect to play linebacker. So, it comes as no surprise that he keyed in on the Tigers’ linebackers during Clemson’s 28-point win over La. Tech on Saturday.

“I like how they play,” Hamilton said. “I like the way that Coach Goodwin utilizes them a lot, like in coverage too. It’s not just sitting and running, nothing like that. I watched two of their linebackers get picks in the game, it was crazy.”

Hamilton sees himself in the mold of Barrett Carter, who has become Clemson’s Nickel-SAM backer. He said that’s actually where he foresees himself playing at the next level, especially when Hamilton considers his positional versatility.

He had a chance to catch up with Wesley Goodwin prior to Clemson’s third victory of the season. Goodwin, Clemson’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach, has served as Hamilton’s primary recruiter throughout the process. 

“He said that he was excited to have me up there and he wants me to come back up as soon as possible,” Hamilton recalled of Goodwin’s message to him.

According to Hamilton, while the two have discussed a potential offer, Goodwin has told him to stay patient and that an offer should be on the way sooner than later.

Goodwin hasn’t handed out the second batch of offers to linebackers in the class of 2024 just yet. Jefferson (Ga.) five-star Sammy Brown and Olney (MD.) Our Lady Good Counsel HS four-star Aaron Chiles are the only backers in their last class to report offers from the Tigers.

Since the calendar struck Sept. 1, Hamilton’s relationship with Goodwin has gotten even better. They’ve talked just about every single day.

“He’s just a great guy, I couldn’t say it any more,” Hamilton said.

In addition to Clemson, Hamilton mentioned schools like Virginia Tech, Kentucky, USF, Florida, Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Michigan State, as those he’s heard from since the beginning of the month. He’s also heard from just about every school that’s offered him up until this point.

Hamilton hasn’t set up any game day visits at the moment, but he does know that he’s returning to The Valley for the South Carolina game at the end of the regular season.

“I want to see the atmosphere for a rivalry game,” Hamilton said. “I can only imagine what that would be like.

“I’m pumped for it,” he added. “I cannot wait.”

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A coveted linebacker prospect from the Sunshine State participated in Day 3 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Friday, June 10.

Navarre (Fla.) four-star linebacker Zavier Hamilton — a  6-foot-1, 205-pound rising junior in the class of 2024 — had a great time while competing at the camp and working with the Tigers’ coaching staff.

“It was fantastic,” Hamilton told The Clemson Insider regarding his Clemson camp experience. “I had a really, really great time learning from Coach Goodwin and all them. I was having a great time. I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.”

What type of feedback did Hamilton get from Wesley Goodwin?

“He told me that my hips were a little bit tight, but other than that, that was about it,” Hamilton said. “He did walk me through some drills that’ll help me open them up and he said that it’ll make me a way better player on top of that. I’m definitely gonna take that away and apply it.”

Goodwin spent a lot of time with Hamilton and was specifically watching him the whole time, so that proved to him Clemson’s level of interest in him.

Clemson has only offered one linebacker in the class of 2024 — Our Lady Good Counsel HS (Olney, MD.) four-star Aaron Chiles — so according to Hamilton, Clemson’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach told him that when it comes to offering rising juniors, he’s taking things slow.

“He said that he absolutely loves me on film and loves me even more in person,” Hamilton said. “He said for me to keep on coming regularly and to see where it takes us. He told me to come up to as many games as possible as well.”

With that said, Hamilton is hoping that a coveted potential offer will be coming sooner than later.

While Hamilton told us previously that he would like to have a decision made by the end of the summer, he’s now leaning towards waiting until spring 2023. Both he and his parents want to see more.

“I just want to travel more,” he said. “I just want to go see what other places are like and see if I have that same feeling there.”

Rivals considers Hamilton as the nation’s No. 28 athlete and the No. 201 overall prospect in the class of 2024.

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As we revealed in this week’s edition of The Insider Report, Clemson is in a good position with a four-star Sunshine State linebacker, who is set to make his return to campus on Friday, June 10.

Zavier Hamilton — a 6-foot-1, 205-pound rising junior in the class of 2024 — has built up quite the relationship with Clemson defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, Wesley Goodwin

“It’s been great,” Hamilton said regarding his relationship with Goodwin. “I love him. He’s a great guy. He sees that I’m an ambitious young man and he wants to develop me in hopes to get me up there. He’s just a great person. He’s really easy to talk to. I don’t have any problems trying to strike up a conversation with him or nothing. It’s just been great.”

Talking with The Clemson Insider this past weekend, Hamilton revealed what he’s been hearing from Clemson as of late and where things currently stand with his recruitment.

“They just want to get me up there as soon as possible, pretty much,” he continued.  “They still love me. They love how personal I am. I’ve been talking to them pretty much every week, every Friday. It’s just been great building that relationship and they just want to see me come up there to camp and I could see an offer that day.”

What would a potential offer from Clemson mean for Hamilton and his recruitment?

“That’d be huge,” he said. “Clemson would be in my top three. I love everything about them. I love their culture. It would mean even more to me if I could get that offer in-person because I like establishing relationships before I get the offer.”

As far as the rest of Hamilton’s recruitment is concerned, he has some top schools in mind. He mentioned to us that Notre Dame, Clemson and Virginia Tech are among his top contenders, and in addition to his Clemson visit, he’ll be in South Bend this weekend from June 3-5.

Surprisingly, Hamilton, a rising junior, told us that he will “definitely” be making a decision before the season. There are a few places that he would already consider home, but Hamilton wants to use this summer to evaluate some top options.

“Freshman year, I went to 50 Division I schools and they all sort of melted together,” Hamilton said. “All of them were pretty much the same, but those three places really stuck out to me the most. Those are the three places that I’d want to go.”

While Hamilton was only focusing on schools that have already offered him a scholarship, there’s something different about Clemson. He’ll gladly camp there in two weeks and have the opportunity to not only workout with Goodwin, but earn a scholarship offer from the Tigers.

Hamilton told us that he’s “itching” to get back to Clemson.

He camped at Clemson last summer, but that was under the direction of former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, Brent Venables, who is now the head coach at the University of Oklahoma.

“I’m excited,” he added. “I loved their camp last year. I had a lot of fun.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of @ZavierHamilton1 on Twitter.