Last weekend, Clemson played host to some under-the-radar prospects, like Johns Creek (Ga.) 2024 wide receiver Kyle Vaka, who made his way to Tiger Town for the Orange & White Spring Game last Saturday.
“I mean it was awesome,” Vaka told The Clemson Insider. “Clemson’s definitely a special place. It was really great to meet the people and the coaches, they were really engaging. Great hospitality. The current players are the real deal. Watching the warmups and just the game itself, they’re well-coached. And, of course, the facilities are top-notch. They’re the best facilities in the country that I’ve seen, in my opinion. It was a really great visit.”
Vaka had been on campus prior to last Saturday’s visit. His sister is a freshman at Clemson, so he’s already been up to visit a couple of times. He also participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last summer.
That, along with following Tyler Grisham on Twitter, helped get Vaka on Clemson wide receivers coach’s radar.
“I got to spend a lot of time with Coach Grisham and (Offensive Player Development) Coach Kaleb Nobles,” Vaka said. “I talked with Coach Grisham at breakfast. I love that he played at Clemson and I really enjoyed our conversation. I spent a lot of my time with Coach Nobles, he’s an offensive assistant there with the QBs and the wide receivers. He took us on a tour of the facilities. I met Coach Tajh Boyd, Coach (Nick) Eason, Coach (Wesley) Goodwin, so it was really great.”
What was Vaka able to hear from Grisham?
“He was just telling me all about what they’re about,” Vaka said. “He was telling me a lot about the facilities and what Clemson has to offer. Of course, Clemson is wide receiver U, so we were talking about those guys. He was just a really, really genuine guy. He was talking to my family, just about life. He’s just a genuine guy.”
While Clemson’s spring game was far from an offensive affair, Vaka was a fan of what he saw, from a Brandon Streeter-led offense, especially concept-wise.
“I definitely liked what I saw out of the offense and what Coach Streeter has going on with the offense,” he said. “I really liked a lot of the RPOs (run-pass option) that they were running. We do that a lot in my high school offense. Those timing routes are big for those short gains, which can move the chains pretty quickly.”
While is truly the start of the recruitment process for Vaka, Clemson is super high on Vaka’s personal list. He attended a practice at the University of South Carolina this past week and was also invited to attend Vanderbilt’s spring game this past weekend.
He expects this spring to bring more visibility to his game and obviously, this upcoming junior season will be critical for him and his team. In the meantime, Vaka is looking forward to getting to camps this summer. He’ll camp at Clemson, South Carolina, Furman, Vanderbilt, App State and a few more, just to get his name out there even more.
“This summer is definitely going to be big in terms of camps and talking to more and more coaches as I can,” he said. “I’m training a lot right now just to get to that point. This is probably the hardest I’ve worked ever, on this offseason. I’m doing wide receiver skill with Terrence Edwards, he’s the all-time leading receiver at Georgia. I’m doing speed agility with Drew Johnson, who trains a lot of NFL guys…a lot of things I’m working for to be able to perform at a really high level this spring and this summer to get my recruiting going.”
As for Vaka’s sophomore season, it went really well. He was one of three sophomores starting on a senior-laden team, which had one of its best seasons in school history.
When asked to describe himself as a player, Vaka made sure he didn’t leave out many details.
“There have been a few publications and analysts who have commented recently and I think they got it right,” Vaka said. “I’m a ‘get-open guy.’ I’m in the right spot where the quarterback wants me to be. I’m in the right spot when he looks to throw it. I’m where he wants me to be in the progression. I’m explosive off the snap. I like to make quick cuts. I pride myself on being an elite route runner. For me, that’s the biggest part of my game. How can I create separation? And, that’s elite route running. Almost everything I do, I want to be an elite route runner and create as much separation as possible.”
— Photo for this article courtesy of Kyle Vaka
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