Standout Alabama defensive lineman has ties to Nick Eason

Malik Blocton has a relationship with Clemson's Nick Eason established already.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Tue Feb 28 07:00:19 GMT-04:00 2023

CARROLLTON, Georgia – Nick Eason has already entrenched himself as part of Malik Blocton's family, and if all goes well, Blocton will be a part of the Clemson Family in 2024.

Blocton – the 4-star defensive lineman – out of Pike Road (AL), already has ties to Clemson's defensive tackles coach because of his brother, who plays at Auburn, and he said he thinks Eason will have a chance to coach him, too.

The 6-3, 270-pound prospect competed at the Under Armour camp Sunday afternoon and had nothing but good things to say about Eason and Clemson.

"Coach Eason, for sure, is recruiting me, Blocton told TigerNet Sunday afternoon. "He's been recruiting me since he was at Auburn, so me and Coach Eason have a good relationship. My brother is a defensive lineman at Auburn, so he coached my brother, and he will probably have a chance to coach me too. He has a good relationship with my mom and my little sister. He's really a part of the family. My cousin passed away when he was at Auburn, and he made sure he came down to comfort our family. He's a real stand-up guy."

Blocton – a physical player who loves to stop the run – is the type of player who could thrive under Eason's tutelage.

"It's really fun to be able to compete with the other guys and see where I lineup against them," Blocton said. "I love to compete. I love to stop the run. I love to pass rush, but stopping the run is my bread and butter. I play with my hands a lot, so I try to get a lot of knockdowns at the line of scrimmage and stuff like that."

In addition to Clemson, Blocton has nearly 40 offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Oregon, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others.

However, it's Clemson that currently stands at the top, but there's a long way to go until December's national signing day.

"They're (Clemson) at the top. I'm probably going to wait until signing day in December (to make a decision)," he said. "I want to go somewhere I can go in and play early. Somewhere where I can be developed, win games, win championships, and give me a chance to go to the league."