Nation's No. 1 2019 LB headlines Saturday's visitors

Linebacker Owen Pappoe from Grayson has 33 offers.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Fri Oct 14 20:05:15 GMT-04:00 2016

A noon kickoff is often a difficult attraction for many of the region’s top prospects, but Saturday’s high-noon showdown between Clemson and N.C. State won’t lack for recruiting star power.

While the visitor’s list will be small, compared to that of the Louisville game or the season finale with South Carolina, there are several stars that will be on hand.

Headlining the group will be a pair of 2019 targets in 4-star Hogansville (GA) Callaway offensive lineman Keiondre Jones and linebacker Owen Pappoe, who many believe to be the top linebacker for that recruiting cycle. Jones – who stopped in Clemson over the summer – already owns offers from Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Louisville, N.C. State and North Carolina.

Pappoe – the Loganville (GA) Grayson linebacker has 33 offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Clemson, Florida, Florida St., Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina, TCU, and Tennessee.

He will accompany a slew of other Grayson players, including 2017 quarterback commit Chase Brice, 2019 wide receiver Kenyon Jackson, 2019 offensive lineman Wanya Morris, 2019 defensive tackle Tru Thompson and 2019 safety Kenyatta Watson.

Perhaps the most intriguing prospect (to the fans anyway) will be 2017 Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy kicker Cooper Graham.

According to Kohl’s Kicking Academy, Graham is the seventh-ranked kicker in the country at 6-0, 180 pounds. In the showcase, he made seven field goals and averaged 70.5 yards per kickoff. He currently has one Division I offer from Army.

Graham will be in attendance with 2018 wide receiver teammate Brian Hightower is the No. 2 wide receiver in the country according to ESPN and ranks No. 25 in the ESPN Jr. 300. He has over 30 offers that span every Power 5 conference and from coast to coast.

2018 wide receiver K’Vaughn Pope will also be making the trip to Clemson. The 4-star Dinwiddie (VA) prospect has offers from Charlotte, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, N.C. State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Also on hand will be the younger brothers of two Clemson football players. 2018 Wake Forest (NC) running back Devon Lawrence and 2019 Cornelius (NC) Hough cornerback Tyus Fields.

Lawrence – the brother of freshman defensive tackle Dexter – is already ranked a 4-star and is No. 118 in the ESPN Jr. 300. At 5-11 and 203 pounds, he has offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and N.C. State among others. If his recruitment is anything like his brother’s, Clemson will be in it until the very end.

Fields, is the younger brother of sophomore cornerback Mark, who picked off a pass in the fourth quarter against Boston College last week and returned it for a touchdown. Tyus was impressive at head coach Dabo Swinney’s camp last summer and has been a mainstay at Clemson games this season.

As always, there will be visitors added to the list or some that don’t make the trip, so make sure to follow TigerNet throughout the morning on Saturday for the latest recruiting information.