It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report.
We hope everyone had a great weekend.
Another 5-star QB will be on campus this week
After revealing some names in our Monday morning preview of Day 1 of the Dabo Swinney Camp come Wednesday, June, 1, we’re ready to disclose another five-star visitor in Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.) 2024 QB Jadyn Davis.
After speaking with multiple sources this past weekend and leading into Monday morning, The Clemson Insider has learned that Davis will be visiting and camping at Clemson Wednesday, along with his teammates — 2024 four-star WR Channing Goodwin and 2024 three-star safety Brody Barnhardt.
TCI spoke with Davis at the Elite 11 Regional in Atlanta at Carrollton High School, back on Sunday, April 3. It was then that Davis recapped his latest visit to Clemson, which took place on Saturday, March 12. It was his first time back on campus, since he was in attendance for Clemson’s 48-27 win over Wake Forest on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, at Memorial Stadium.
“It was great,” Davis said, “just always talking to Coach (Brandon) Streeter. He didn’t leave my side one bit. I got to go there with my new high school head coach (Chad Grier). Me and D.J. (Uiagalelei) have a really good relationship, so seeing him again, just always building chemistry and connection with the guys and just building a relationship with the coaches.”
Davis had a pretty in-depth conversation with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney while he was back on campus. According to Davis, Swinney was just telling him about Clemson’s recruiting philosophy.
“I know they offered Sammy (Brown) in my class (2024), which is pretty rare, so that shows you how good of a player he is,” Davis said. “Just to come back for the summer, hang out and we’ll have some good news.”
Davis wouldn’t go as far as to say that he’s expecting an offer once he’s back on campus. Rather, he’s learned to temper his expectations when it comes to recruiting. Though, he made sure to reiterate that he’s really interested in Clemson and knows that Swinney and staff are very interested in him.
Previewing Day 2 of Swinney Camp
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s annual summer camp is set to kick off with the first one-day camp this Wednesday, June 1, with another one-day camp to follow on June 2 and then a three-day camp from June 10-12.
With the Swinney Camp about to get underway, The Clemson Insider gives a preview of the first day of camp and some of the prospects planning to make their way to Tiger Town to compete during Thursday’s second session:
One of the headliners, who confirmed their visit to TCI this past weekend and again on Monday is Willis (Texas) five-star DJ Lagway, the No. 4 ranked quarterback for the 2024 class, per 247Sports, which tabs him as the No. 18 overall prospect in his class regardless of position.
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.”
Other top prospects who will join Lagway in competing at the Swinney Camp on June 2 – to name some – are North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.) three-star defensive back Khalil Barnes, Moody (Alabama) three-star wide receiver Davion Dozier, Carrollwood Day School (Tampa, Fla.) four-star DB Tavoy Feagin, St. Joseph’s Prep School (Philadelphia, Pa.) four-star cornerback Omilio Agard and Lipscomb Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) four-star CB Kaleb Beasley
Agard — the nation’s No. 6 cornerback in the 2024 class, per 247Sports — has been in contact with Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed for the past nine months, as he works to earn an offer from the Tigers, which he told TCI would “show his worth to Clemson.”
“Their process is different and I really appreciate that process, because if you get that offer, it’s like you’ve been building a relationship and it’s very genuine and the coaches believe that you will be a big part of the team,” Agard said. “So, to get that offer is amazing because it just shows how great of a person you are in and out. It just shows that they’re very genuine.”
Beasley told us that he hadn’t locked in a visit to Clemson just yet, but also indicated that he “might” go on June 2.
Additionally, we originally reported that Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 2024 four-star tight end Kylan Fox would be on campus come this Thursday, but have since learned that he will be at the University of Georgia instead. That doesn’t mean a visit to Clemson isn’t in the cards; Fox was invited to camp by tight ends coach Kyle Richardson and may just reschedule a visit any time between June 10-12.
Following is a list of prospects TCI has confirmed as expected participants in the second session of the Swinney Camp on Thursday, June 2. Of course, this is not a full list of campers but rather some of the notable names planning to be there, and as always, these lists are fluid and subject to change.
Class of 2023
East Lincoln (Denver, N.C.) 3-star LB Ben Cutter
North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.) 3-star DB Khalil Barnes
Moody (Alabama) 3-star WR Davion Dozier
North Cobb Christian School (Kennesaw, Ga.) OL Gabriel Fortson
Northside High (Warner Robins, Ga.) OL Kyle Mixon
Milford Mill Academy (Baltimore, MD.) ATH Sean Williams
Greenville (S.C.) WR Tyler Brown
Class of 2024
Willis (Texas) 5-star QB DJ Lagway
St. Joseph’s Prep School (Philadelphia, Pa.) 4-star CB Omilio Agard
Carrollwood Day School (Tampa, Fla.) 4-star DB Tavoy Feagin
Lipscomb Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) 4-star CB Kaleb Beasley
Webb School of Knoxville (Tenn.) 4-star ATH Markeis Barrett
Schley County (Ellaville, Ga.) 4-star WR Jalewis Solomon
Charlotte (N.C) Catholic 4-star TE Jack Larsen
Charlotte (N.C.) Christian School RB Ryan Henley
Millbrook (N.C.) QB Mason Fortune
Daniel (S.C.) QB Zachary Pickelsimer
Greenville (S.C.) TE Mac McLean
Johns Creek (Ga.) WR Kyle Vaka
Class of 2025
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) WR Winston Watkins, Jr.
Mandarin (Jacksonville, Fla.) WR Jaime Ffrench
Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) OL Cortez Smith
The latest on Monroe Freeling
TCI checked in one of Clemson’s primary offensive line targets in the class of 2023.
Monroe Freeling — a priority offensive line target out of Mt. Pleasant’s Oceanside Collegiate Academy — quietly shut down his recruitment during finals, as he wanted to focus on his end-of-year exams and not have to worry about juggling the two.
He has since tapped back into things and said that he’s focused on his top seven schools: Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan.
Freeling has scheduled two official visits this summer to Notre Dame and Miami. He told us that he can’t go to Clemson’s official visit weekend from June 3-5 because it falls during his parent’s anniversary.
Though, he didn’t rule out making an unofficial visit to Clemson this summer.
“I’ve also been up there so many times, it also just felt like I really could just do an in-season official visit,” he said. “It’d feel like it’d make a lot more sense, but it’s still undecided.”
Freeling all but guaranteed that he would eventually make an official visit to Clemson. What it really comes down to for him and his family, is being able to get everyone up to Tiger Town at the same time.
“It’s kind of been a steady relationship,” Freeling said. “I was talking a lot more to Coach (Thomas) Austin from the jump than I was talking to Coach (Robbie) Caldwell. I think that definitely helped…the relationship’s still there, I think it’s just a matter of seeing Coach Austin — I might go up to a camp or something and try to see more of what his coaching’s like. That’s all I can really say.”
Clemson in good position with 4-star Florida LB
This past weekend, TCI caught up with Navarre (Fla.) 2024 four-star linebacker Zavier Hamilton. As it stands right now, we believe Hamilton to be a prime candidate to earn an offer in the coming weeks.
“They just want to get me up there as soon as possible, pretty much,” Hamilton said. “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.”
Hamilton will be back at Clemson on June 10.
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 remainder 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.
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 Wesley Goodwin, but earn a scholarship offer from the Tigers.
