Joyner says Clemson's people, Swinney's contract situation make an impression

Joyner should be back in Clemson for the high school camp in June

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue May 05 15:48:00 GMT-04:00 2015

One of the top young prospects in the state of South Carolina stopped by Clemson last weekend, and the visit definitely made an impression.

Dakereon Joyner, a 2018 athlete out of Fort Dorchester (SC) North Charleston made the trip to Clemson Saturday with one of his teammates, top offensive line prospect John SimpsonJohn Simpson
Offensive Guard
6-4, 290
North Charleston, SC
View Full Profile . Joyner said Simpson invited him and he didn’t want to miss an opportunity to see Clemson again.

“He is my big brother. John just wanted to get one more visit in before he went to LSU or Tennessee to see how he felt about it,” Joyner told TigerNet. “He offered for me to come, too, so I went up there. It was good to get that 1-on-1 time with Coach Elliott. It was pretty awesome.”

Joyner got to spend time with former Clemson tight end and current coach Durrell Barry, another Fort Dorchester product.

“We hung around with him the whole day. That is my favorite guy to hang around at Clemson,” Joyner said.

He then said that the best part of the day was having offensive coordinator and recruiter Tony ElliottTony Elliott
Co-OC / Running Backs
View Full Profile ’s full attention.

“It was just that 1-on-1 time, and he was telling us what we need to focus on with our grades and things like that. He was telling us what it was like to be a Clemson Tiger and what is expected of you,” Joyner said. “He is from this area - he is from James Island and he graduated from James Island. It's kind of good to know that a person like he is came from the same position we are in, coming from the Charleston area. It's good to talk to a person like that.”

Joyner also got a chance to see the progress on Clemson’s facilities but said that facilities won’t make too much difference when it comes time to choose a school.

“Everybody has nice facilities and every program has nice facilities, but it is the people at the college that makes me love it,” he said. “Clemson has those kind of people.”

Joyner has offers from Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina and figures to attract a dozen more after making the camp circuit this summer. However, a decision isn’t too far in his future.

“I don't want people to think I've made a decision too early. If Clemson offers me then maybe by December of this year or Mother's Day next year,” he said. “I want to focus on getting my team to the state championship and worry more about my high school team instead of recruiting. Recruiting is a kind of distraction from my high school team and I really want to focus on that and get us to a state championship.”

Despite not having a Clemson offer, Joyner said he is a slight lean to Clemson and listed head coach Dabo SwinneyDabo Swinney
Head Coach
View Full Profile ’s contract situation as one of the reasons why.

“I am leaning more towards Clemson. It's how close I am to the people up there and how close I am to Deshaun Watson and all of the coaches,” he said. “And Coach Swinney, he is a special coach. I would love to play for Coach Dabo Swinney. Knowing that he just signed an extension to a contract, I know he will be there for a long time and I don't have to worry about him leaving or even Tony Elliott leaving.”

In 2014, Joyner split time with senior Kobe Garrett and completed 43-of-92 passes for 529 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 231 yards and score and had four receptions for 26 yards.