Camp Confidential: Day Two, Session One

Latta's Donell Stanley spent time with Dabo Swinney Thursday morning

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Jun 06 12:02:29 GMT-04:00 2013

CLEMSON – Day two of Clemson head coach Dabo Siwnney’s high school camp started under cloudy and rainy skies Thursday morning, with more rain expected to move in this afternoon.

The rain was a big topic of conversation during the morning session – rain plagued last year’s camps – but the arrival of several more top prospects brightened the mood considerably on the practice fields and in the indoor practice facility.

The first player I went over and watched was George Brown George Brown
Offensive Tackle
6-6, 255
Cincinnati, OH
View Full Profile , the big (6-6, 250) 2015 prospect out of Cincinnati (OH) Winton Woods. Brown is listed by many of the recruiting sites as an offensive tackle or tight end, but he was working with defensive ends coach Marion HobbyMarion Hobby
Assistant Coach / Defensive Ends
View Full Profile during the Thursday morning session.

I spoke with Brown’s father, George Brown, Sr., who said he really thinks his son will play defensive end on the next level, and he wanted his son to have the opportunity to work with Hobby. The Tigers offered Brown earlier this spring, and his father said that Clemson is “one of the leaders” for his son’s services.

Brown actually watched the Tigers play in person when they defeated LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl game on New Year’s Eve, but he was there to watch his cousin – LSU running back Spencer Ware – play in his last collegiate game.

The Browns visited Clemson back in March, shortly after the offer, and plan on making a return trip for the season opener against Georgia. He currently holds 27 offers.

In watching Brown Thursday morning, it’s easy to see why he is wanted on both sides of the ball – he has a great first step, comes out of a three-point stance with explosiveness and it’s easy to see he already has the size to be a good player on the next level.

Brown, Sr., told me that he has two years to get his son in shape and ready to play collegiately, and has him run 1 ½ miles for cardio purposes AFTER every workout. That includes after today’s two sessions.

*Latta (SC) offensive tackle Donell Stanley was back out for the morning session, but didn’t work out. He watched offensive line coach Robbie CaldwellRobbie Caldwell
Assistant Coach / Offensive Line
View Full Profile work with the linemen, but did get a handshake and a little bit of time with Swinney, who made sure to stop by for a visit.

*Another offensive lineman on hand was 2015 OT Mason Veal Mason Veal
Offensive Tackle
6-6, 290
Charlotte, NC
View Full Profile out of Charlotte (NC) Ardrey Kell. This was the first time I’ve seen Veal in person, and he looked the part during sled drills. He has offers from both Clemson and South Carolina. Hopefully we will get to see more of him this afternoon – he wasn’t working with Caldwell while I was there – but might transition over during the afternoon session.

A lot of times when you see these offensive line prospects, they still have a lot of “baby fat” on them. Not Veal – he looked like he was in shape, and the drills didn’t wind him in the least. He was another one that got to spend a little time with Swinney.

*Another offensive line prospect that stands out – he looks mean and nasty – is Boiling Springs’ Noah Green Noah Green
Offensive Tackle
6-5, 275
Boiling Springs, SC
View Full Profile , who is listed at 6-5, 275, but looks a lot bigger to me. He has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, East Carolina and Vanderbilt. Expect more to follow.

All in all, Caldwell has a pretty good group to work with in this session.

*Despite the muddy and slick conditions, Greensboro (NC) Southern Guilford's Reggie Gallaspy Reggie Gallaspy
Running Back
5-11, 205
Greensboro, NC
View Full Profile showed he has some special moves as he worked with running backs coach Tony ElliottTony Elliott
Assistant Coach / Running Backs
View Full Profile . He has offers from Virginia, N.C. State and Wake Forest, but one observer told me he is here to hopefully get an offer from the Tigers. He reminded me a little bit of former Tiger back Kyle Browning.

*Finally, the Danny PearmanDanny Pearman
Assistant Head Coach / Tight Ends
View Full Profile funny quote of the session: several tight ends were running through drills, and were dropping the ball in the wet conditions. Pearman yelled to the group at one point, “I don’t want to see a ball hit the ground. Tight ends who can’t catch become offensive guards. Is that what you want? You wanna be a guard the rest of your ilfe?”