McCloud's visit reinforces Clemson is the place for him

McCloud was on hand for Clemson's 50-35 win over UNC.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Mon Sep 29 13:10:20 GMT-04:00 2014

The Clemson football program is like the girl with the really cool dad.

The family of 5-star recruit Ray Ray McCloud Ray Ray McCloud
Wide Receiver
5-10, 170
Tampa, FL
ESPN:
View Full Profile III was in Clemson this past weekend, spending Saturday on campus and taking in Clemson’s win over North Carolina in Death Valley and spending part of Sunday with head coach Dabo SwinneyDabo Swinney
Head Coach
View Full Profile and his family.

McCloud’s father - Ray McCloud, Jr. - told TigerNet that Clemson is just different than other big-time programs, and said the Clemson family is so welcoming it reminds him of when he was dating.

“I just would say the people are more welcoming,” McCloud, Jr. said Monday morning. “It’s like when you meet a girl and you go to her parent’s house and some parents are very welcoming. And then you have some dads that don’t even look at you right. Some schools are just not as welcoming. But Clemson is a small town and just a loving place with some very down to earth people.”

Clemson goes beyond welcoming just the prospect, they embrace the recruit’s entire family with open arms.

“My kids and younger boys had a ball,” McCloud, Jr. said. “I love the people there. They are kind people and very welcoming, and they all knew who Ray Ray was. It was very enjoyable. It’s really just about the people. Clemson is just different.”

McCloud, Jr. said that the family’s trip to Clemson did nothing but reinforce the fact that his son made the right decision when he committed to Swinney and the Tigers in July.

“It went excellent. Everything was really good,” he said. “We just hung out. We really didn’t talk about football and hung out and spent time together and got out of there about 1:30 or so. We have spent time together before. But we already knew that was the best place. We watched ESPN and talked about the team and just things like that.”

The No. 2 ranked athlete according to Rivals.com won’t enroll until January but the family already realizes how special his signal caller at Clemson will be.

“I enjoyed it and enjoyed watching Deshaun,” McCloud, Jr. said. “I knew he was special when I watched him against Georgia. You could just tell.”

Through four games in his senior season, McCloud has carried the ball 104 times for 652 yards and six touchdowns, caught three passes for 25 yards and completed one pass for 30 yards and a score.