Swinney Camp Insider: Session 1 brings plenty of star power

5-star prospect Malik Bryant watched but didn't work out.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jun 02 12:38:22 GMT-04:00 2021

Wednesday morning had a very familiar feel to it. The shrill blast of the coaches’ whistles, the thud of the football into gloved hands, the shouts of players and coaches during drills, and the smell of the slightly damp grass on a late spring day. Yes, Dabo Swinney’s football camps are back.

Wednesday morning was the first of 12 sessions of Swinney’s high school camps – there will be an afternoon session today, two sessions tomorrow, two sessions each on Saturday and Sunday, and two sessions each on June 10th and 11th.

The camps usually start slow, but Wednesday morning saw full parking lots around the indoor facility and across the street in Lot 5 and a number of high-profile targets on hand working out. Because we have to be back out there at 2 p.m., it’s my intent to hit a few of the highlights of the morning session and then recap both sessions at the end of the day.

Let’s get started:

*Lots of former players are on hand helping coach, including Cole Stoudt (who is now on staff working with the quarterbacks) and offensive lineman Antione McClain. Clemson signee Will Taylor was working with the wide receivers.

*One of the first people I ran into was former Clemson tight end Stacy Fields. His son is Jackson Fields, a 2022 wide receiver out of Missouri City (TX) Elkins. Fields was easy to spot – he stands 6-7 and is a shade over 200 pounds. He has offers from Air Force, Army, Texas Southern, and Nevada. Smooth route runner, good hands and is quick for a big man.

*The elder Fields was standing with former Alabama defensive tackle (and former Cowboy and Bronco and Brown and Bengal) Michael Myers, whose son is working out at cornerback.

*Clemson offered linebacker Jaren Kanak out of Kansas yesterday, and Kanak didn’t work out in the morning session. He was watching the linebackers with his parents and staff member Zach Fulmer who looked like he was giving a tour.

*Speaking of linebackers, I was impressed with 3-star 2022 prospect Kailep Edwards out of Louisiana, who has offers from schools like Tennessee, Ole Miss, Penn St., and Michigan St. Edwards camped with Clemson when he was a freshman and I was told he wanted to put it all on the line because Clemson is one of his dream offers. He was working hard and had the attention of both defensive coordinator Brent Venables and Swinney.

Edwards was part of a group that included a 2026 defensive tackle (yes, I said 2026) that bears watching. His name is Jahkeem Stewart and he already stands 6-5, 295 (his coach laughed when I asked what they were feeding him). Stewart has already earned offers from Georgia and Florida over the last few days.

Another member of the group from Louisiana was Shone Washington, a 2022 defensive tackle out of New Orleans (LA) Warren Easton. The group was at Georgia yesterday. Washington doesn’t have a Clemson offer but most of the SEC has offered. Early thinking is he stays home and goes to LSU.

*Really wanted to watching 5-star 2023 defensive tackle Peter Woods of Alabaster (AL) Thompson but he didn’t work out. Woods was with Clemson staffer Ty Clements watching Todd Bates and the defensive linemen go through drills.

*Another 5-star that didn’t work out but was hanging out was Malik Bryant of Bradenton (FL) IMG.

*Hero Kanu was easy to spot working with the defensive tackles. The Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Catholic, 2022 300-pounder boasts a Clemson offer (along with everybody else) and showed a nice burst for such a big man. And, as I was reminded as I stood there watching him, he has great hands. His punch is ferocious.

* 2023 QBs Dylan Lonergan of Snellville (GA) Brockwood and Raheim Jeter of Duncan (SC) Spartanburg threw for Brandon Streeter, along with 2022 Daniel quarterback Trent Pearman. Pearman was impressive last season for the Lions and is keeping his options open. I thought Lonergan showed nice touch on the long ball, while Jeter, even though he’s slender, has a nice arm and impressed me the most.

*Spent the final part of the session watching Sammy Watkins’ cousin, 2025 wide receiver Winston Watkins out of IMG (he will play there next season). Watkins was in a group with 2024 receiver KJ Bolden of Buford (GA) and they were easily the two standouts. Watkins has so much room to fill out and grow, and he ran smooth routes while showing nice hands. At one point, a ball was thrown too far in front of him and he hit the jets and made a one-handed catch that drew some raised eyebrows. He has a lot of room to grow, but you can see the promise and potential.

*As I said, more to come….