Clemson's summer schedules, Elite Retreat and All In Cookout

Dabo Swinney will be back in his element when camps resume in June.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Apr 27 15:51:40 GMT-04:00 2021

The next several weeks are going to be busy, especially on the recruiting front.

I received a message from someone earlier this week who wanted to know “how the offensive line was looking.” I replied back with what we saw during the spring, and that answer didn’t seem to satisfy the person. I quickly realized that there are some people who think that the players and coaches are at the facility every day working on things, and while all of the above are in and out, this is a time to rest and get ready for the summer.

With that in mind, I thought this would be a good time to run over some dates and thoughts on upcoming events, and hopefully it answers the questions you might have.

I’ll start with the coaches and current players. The coaches are still in recruiting mode, which right now means via Zoom or phone calls or text or FaceTime. This would normally be the spring evaluation period and the coaches would be out on the road, attending high school spring practices, but for the second year in a row, COVID concerns have canceled that portion of their schedule.

For the players, this is a rare time of rest and recuperation. The spring semester is drawing to a close, and once classes are over, they can go home, go on vacation, or whatever else they want to do. Workouts are discretionary through May and the full summer conditioning and strength program begins June 1. The players were forced to work out at home last year, and then when they reported for summer conditioning it was in small groups.

I was told by a staff member that this time is crucial for building team chemistry and camaraderie as well as preparing bodies for the rigors of a run to the College Football Playoff. The remaining members of the 2021 signing class are scheduled to move in on June 24th.

On the recruiting front, all Division I sports will return to their regular recruiting calendars beginning June 1. The Division I Council approved the return to recruiting activities earlier this month. Football recruiting will look a little different in the next year, as the Council approved several adjustments aimed at providing recruiting opportunities for prospective student-athletes whose recruitment was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council issued a waiver to permit on-campus evaluations during unofficial visits during the days football camps and clinics are allowed in June and July 2021 only, with some restrictions. The number of evaluation days in the sport will increase from 42 to 56 during the fall 2021 evaluation period only.

That means Dabo Swinney’s high school football camp will happen this season, the first time since 2019 that the coaches will be allowed to evaluate prospects on campus. Unfortunately, the youth football camps have been postponed for 2021.

The high school camps are also going to take on a slightly different look. In the past, campers could come in and spend several days in camp and spend the night on campus, but each of the six camps will be one-day camps this year.

Session 1 will be on June 2nd, Session 2 on June 3rd, Session 3 on June 5th, Session 4 on June 6th, Session 5 on June 10th, and Session 6 on June 11th. These camps will be for rising 8-12th graders. Campers will check in at 8:30 am, practice from 10 AM until Noon, take a break for lunch from Noon until 2 pm, and then workout from 2 PM until 4 PM with checkout at the end of the session.

That leads into Clemson’s Elite Retreat, which will take place on June 12th and 13th as the coaching staff hosts several top prospects as well as 2022 commits.

The Elite Retreat is not taking the place of the All In Cookout. The Cookout will still take place in late July, usually the last weekend before the start of fall camp. The coaches haven’t been allowed to host recruits in any fashion since last March, so they're taking advantage of the opportunity to get the top prospects on campus twice in a little over a month. For those worried about the start to the 2022 class, look for things to pick up in a big way starting in June.