Carlos Watkins' cousin gets Clemson offer

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Feb 24 16:33:58 GMT-04:00 2012

One of the offers that Dane Rogers had been waiting on came in Friday afternoon.

Rogers, the 6-3, 235-pound 4-star defensive end out of Shelby (N.C.) Crest, said his high school coach gave him the good news as he was leaving school Friday afternoon.

“I talked to my coach about an hour ago, and he says, ‘You know Coach [Dan Brooks] just called me and wanted you to know that you have an offer from Clemson.’ So that was good to hear,” Rogers told TigerNet shortly after the offer. “I kind of felt like I already had an offer from them because we have been in contact, but now it’s official. Now I know for a fact that I have an offer from Clemson and I am very excited about that.”

Rogers says he has offers from N.C. State, Clemson, Tennessee and North Carolina, and has a few visits lined up over the next few weeks.

“I plan on going to Wake Forest tomorrow for their junior day,” he said. “And I hope to get down to Florida next weekend, and then getting back to N.C. State and Clemson. I also plan on getting to Tennessee sometime this spring, because they want me to come down and get familiar with the coaches. Right now, they have a new sports facility that is just for football and I really want to see that.”

He says that Clemson, however, is recruiting him the hardest.

“Coach Brooks is the one that I talk to the most,” he said. “Since I went down there for Clemson’s junior day, Clemson has been on me really hard. I talk with Coach [Marion] Hobby more now, too.”

Rogers is the cousin of 2012 Clemson signee Carlos Watkins, and the former teammate of 2012 Florida signees Jonathan Bullard and Rhaheim Ledbetter.

Watkins is just one of the reasons that Rogers likes Clemson, however.

“The environment is outstanding,” he said. “At Clemson it is all about the atmosphere. They have great coaches and I like all the players. My cousin Carlos just signed with them and I am really excited about that. I am planning on going back down there in the fall to see him play at the next level. The facilities are outstanding. It is all about those Tigers, 24/7. I like it a lot.”

Rogers, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds, says he doesn’t have a favorite at this point.

“As for right now, I don’t really have a leader,” he said. “I am really open in this recruiting business. Right now, I want to give everybody a chance. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and I want to take advantage of that.”