New QB target Tait Reynolds says Clemson is one of the coolest places he's been

Reynolds worked out at Clemson's camp last week (Photo by Susan Lloyd).

Nikki Hood · Staff Writer · Wednesday, June 12 2024

Committing to Arizona State in the eighth grade to play baseball, Tait Reynolds thought he had life figured out, but then football changed everything.

The 2026 Queen Creek (AZ) quarterback started playing football in his freshman year of high school and quickly figured out that he enjoyed playing and was also pretty good. So, the Sun Devils commit is now looking for a home that might allow him to play both sports.

After picking up a Clemson offer over the weekend, Tait now claims 19 offers, including Arizona, Baylor, Iowa State, Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

Reynolds said as an eighth grader, he didn’t know what he didn’t know, and football changed everything.

“I was in eighth grade,” Reynolds told TigerNet about his commitment to Arizona State.” I was really young, and I didn't know a whole lot back then. That's before I started playing football. So, I kind of started playing it like freshman year, and I got into it and I was like, like, dang, this is a lot of fun. Then I started getting a little bit of attention, and I think that's more my focus now is football.”

Reynolds – a consensus three-star prospect – worked out for offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley last week at Dabo Swinney’s high school camp and earned an offer shortly after his departure.

“They just really liked how I played and my competitiveness and coach,” Reynolds said of his performance. “Coach Riley really liked how raw I was. He could tell I haven't really worked with a lot of guys and you could just tell I was kind of just pure athleticism. I think I have a lot to learn, so I think I have a lot of potential and a lot of things I could improve on.”

In addition to working out multiple days during camp, Reynolds also toured the facilities and got to know the coaches.

“It was awesome. It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I got to learn a little bit and got to see what they're all about. I toured the campus and all the facilities and everything, and we got to watch some film with Coach Riley. That was fun. He was showing us all the concepts and just a little bit of the things they do, and I thought it was really interesting.”

Clemson wasn’t totally new to Reynolds, as he admits he was a fan of the Tigers during their national championship run against Alabama.

“I knew they’re winners for sure, so I always grew up watching the national championships and everything,” he said.

However, the visit allowed Reynolds to see what Clemson is about, and he loved what he saw.

“A hundred percent, a hundred percent (would consider playing at Clemson),” he said. “Clemson's probably one of the coolest places I've been to, so I loved everything they said today, and it'd definitely be a big place, great opportunity and place I would want to go to. Everybody has nice facilities and Clemson's are too. The facilities are cool and everything, but it's just really the people, all the people there and everything. Everybody was happy, and they were just genuine and real.”