CLEMSON RECRUITING

Elite Junior Day Recap: Clemson CAB on display, offers go out, a commitment is made
Sammy Brown was among the 5-star visitors for the Elite Retreat this weekend.

Elite Junior Day Recap: Clemson CAB on display, offers go out, a commitment is made


by - Senior Writer -

Elite Junior Day, at least the January one, is in the books, and it wound up being a good day for both the coaches and the recruits.

The Clemson coaching staff hosted several top prospects Saturday, and the big news was the commitment of 4-star defensive tackle Champ Thompson of Norcross (GA) Meadowcreek. Thompson, whose father played on the offensive line for the Atlanta Falcons earlier this century (can I do that now?), becomes Clemson's fourth commitment in the class joining four-star tight end Christian Bentancur, four-star cornerback Tavoy Feagin and four-star kicker Nolan Hauser.

Just a few weeks ago, Thompson released a top seven of Clemson, Georgia, Ole Miss, Michigan, Penn State, Florida State, Penn State, and Miami. He also has offers from Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Oregon, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, Colorado, and Arkansas among others.

A couple of offers also went out - Olney (MD) Good Counsel defensive end Darien Mayo and Tampa (FL) Jesuit linebacker Drew Woodaz, the younger brother of Clemson standout Wade Woodaz.

Woodaz told us that his offer, which comes on the heels of an Iowa offer, came from head coach Dabo Swinney.

“It was surreal. I was just in pure shock because it was at the very end so I just assumed they weren’t going to offer me,” he said. “And then I got called into Coach Swinney’s office and he offered me. He showed us a graphic that said they have only offered 42 kids in the '24 class and that I was 43rd. It’s crazy to know that two very prestigious schools with great coaches have taken notice of me.”

The players arrived on campus for a meet-and-greet with the coaches, and then there were facilities tours, presentations on the PAW Journey and NIL opportunities, and then some of the current players spoke with the group.

The recruits were given a tour of the CAB (Clemson Athletics Branding Institute), and most of the photo shoots were done inside the new facility.

“We learned about the program and why they do everything,” Woodaz said. “We also toured the campus and each individual thing they have for the players, such as PAW Journey. It was good to see how their program is built on a great foundation and how the program is run.”

Sammy Brown, the nation’s No. 1 linebacker out of Jefferson (GA), was impressed by the CAB.

“That place is kind of cool to me,” Brown told TigerNet. “I thought it was really cool. We took most of our pictures in there, like our recruiting pictures and all that stuff, but I thought it was really cool. It’s a great add-on, and it’s good to see what Clemson is doing in NIL.”

There were sessions with individual coaches before Swinney spoke to the recruits and their families, a speech that, as usual, resonated with the prospects.

Several of the prospects then went to Swinney’s house for some further time with the coaches and, of course, basketball in the Swinney gym. Brown said Swinney was the most competitive person in the room, and Brown simply tried to hang around and play as long as he could.

“I thought it was really cool to go over to his house and interact with some of the other recruits and the coaches,” Brown said. “I was just trying to not get knocked out in the first round of knockouts, so I had a good time and I think all of the other recruits had a good time as well. It was a great experience.”

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