Change in philosophy gives Tigers recruiting momentum |
A change in philosophy by Clemson head coach
Dabo Swinney led to a big weekend and beyond for the Tigers.
In the past, Swinney didn’t want rising high school seniors to take their official visits to Clemson over the summer. Recruits are allowed five official visits – fully paid for by the school – and Swinney wanted those visits to occur on game days in the fall. The coaches would be able to show the prospects what a gameday weekend looks like in Clemson, complete with pregame rituals, the bus ride around the stadium, running down the hill, and the game itself. Players that take unofficial visits must pay their own way, and if that happened during the summer, it showed Swinney and the coaches a commitment from the prospect that he was indeed interested in attending Clemson. Times they are a changing, however, and Swinney backed off on his rule this season. The addition of Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) deals and the transfer portal give recruits more to think about when weighing their options. With the transfer portal, fewer high school recruits are getting scholarships and prospects want to make a decision before the fewer spots evaporate. Swinney hosted the first two days of his high school camp last week and followed that with a three-day weekend of official visits. The program hosted 31 recruits and it started paying immediate dividends. The Tigers are up to 12th overall and tops in the ACC for 2023 in the 247Sports Team Composite after three commitments over the first three days after the weekend. The good news started on Monday with the commitment of 4-star cornerback Avieon Terrell, the brother of All-ACC standout and national champion AJ Terrell. He was followed in turn by 4-star offensive lineman Ian Reed, 4-star tight end Olsen Patt Henry, and 4-star defensive back Kylen Webb. Clemson had four commitments for the 2023 class heading into last weekend – 5-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina, 4-star wide receiver Nathaniel Joseph, 4-star defensive end David Ojiegbe, and 4-star cornerback Branden Strozier. The Tigers also look to be in good shape with several other top prospects, a few of whom might commit sooner rather than later. Big-time defensive end Hunter Osborne out of Trussville (AL) Hewitt-Trussville declared Clemson as his leader from a final six that also includes Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee and Texas. He's planned official visits to the latter three. Clemson also looks to be in good shape with linebacker Dee Crayton, defensive end AJ Hoffler, wide receiver Noble Johnson, safety Derek Williams, tight Markus Dixon, defensive end Colton Vasek, safety Rob Billings, safety Ahmad Brown, linebacker Jamal Anderson, and defensive lineman Vic Burley. I had an amazing official visit to Clemson University this past weekend! Thank you to everyone who made it such a memorable trip and I can’t wait to be back!! @ClemsonFB @coachski_ @CoachEason1 pic.twitter.com/u7DXRDyT7e
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