Swinney Camp Insider: Session 2 ends a big first day

Jeter caught the attention of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on Wednesday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jun 02 17:57:42 GMT-04:00 2021

Session No. 2 of head coach Dabo Swinney’s high school camp is in the books, and we have plenty of information to bring your way.

I’ll start with a couple of notes about backup quarterback Taisun Phommachanh. I was a little shocked to see Phommachanh helping with the quarterbacks – wearing dreadlocks for the first time – and a big walking boot. He moved really well for someone coming off an Achilles injury. In fact, he was moving so well that if he had anything other than an Achilles tear, I would tell you he has a shot to be ready for the season. But as we all know, some of those injuries can take a year to fully heal.

A couple of guys looking to take Phommachanh’s spot on the depth chart were working with prospects as well – Bubba Chandler and Will Taylor. Both are expected to be high draft picks in the July MLB Draft, but it’s a good sign that both are on campus and working and getting a feel for what life would be like at Clemson. That kind of money would be hard to turn down, but both seemed to be having a great time. (It’s interesting to note that this is the first time Chandler has been able to meet Swinney in the flesh – all prior conversations had been via Zoom).

Preferred walk-on commit Billy Wiles was also helping with the quarterbacks.

*Raheim Jeter of Duncan (SC) Spartanburg is an intriguing prospect. He stands 6-3 and packs 220 pounds on his frame, and he moves really well for a bigger quarterback. At one point, Brandon Streeter had Jeter doing drills where you moved left and then back right and tried to throw into a small target at the back of the end zone (about a 30-yard throw on the run) and Jeter was accurate while displaying a strong arm. After maybe the third throw, Swinney left the receivers he was watching and moved over to watch Jeter perform several drills.

Jeter has offers from Auburn, Charlotte, Georgia, Memphis, Missouri, South Carolina and Virginia Tech and has drawn interest from Wisconsin.

*I moved over to watch the linebackers for a minute, and I heard James Skalski’s voice loud and clear as he put a group through its paces. Skalski knows every drill inside and out, and he doesn’t mind yelling at prospects when they don’t do a drill the right way and he doesn’t mind praising them when they do it right. As one prospect ran through a cone drill, Skalski screamed, “That’s clean! Clean! I love it!” He then turned and winked at me and said, “You liked that didn’t you?”

You can’t put a price on the leadership he brings, plus that football IQ. If he wants to get into coaching, he looks like a natural.

*New offer Jaren Kanak worked out with the linebackers and the safeties. At first glance, he’s bigger in his upper body than I would have thought and his speed is noticeable. He gets in and out of his breaks quickly – quickness is different than speed – and shows good change of direction.

His parents were still walking around with Clemson staffer Zach Fulmer.

*Linebacker DeMario Tolan was the most impressive in the strictly linebacker grouping.

*For the record, one observer said the DB's "abused" the wide receivers during the earlier 1-on-1 session.

*I moved down to watch the safeties and the corners, and former Clemson corner Chris Chancellor was there. Chancellor now works for the City of Clemson Police Department and coaches youth football in the area, and it’s always good to see him. He looked at me and laughed, and said, “I wouldn’t get an offer at Clemson if I played today. Too short. Look at these guys.”

Yes, Clemson does go after the taller corners.

*Had a conversation with a high school coach from out of state, and while we were talking I saw Swinney and Venables deep in conversation. I mentioned that I would love to be a fly on the wall for that convo, and the coach said that he thought they were probably game-planning for the Georgia game. He then mentioned that he has always thought that camp wasn’t important to the Clemson coaching staff and that they were more concerned about gameday. I quickly let him know that these camps are in many ways the lifeblood of the program.