Top Pennsylvania linebacker says he could be "a good fit" for Clemson

Maguire hopes to make a return trip to Clemson soon

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sun Mar 11 07:01:02 GMT-04:00 2018

With a large class to fill in 2019, Clemson continues to expand its recruiting footprint and that includes Pennsylvania, home to one of the nation’s top linebackers.

Three-star Malvern (PA) Malvern Prep inside linebacker Keith Maguire picked up a Clemson offer in early February and made his first trip to Clemson for its junior day earlier this month and he left the Palmetto State with a lot to think about.

"It was great. It's a special place down there. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back down there," Maguire said recently. "I think the school was beautiful and the facilities were top notch. It's somewhere I'm going to be looking more into. Coach Swinney was talking about how he was glad to have me down for the weekend and just a normal conversation. The football conversation was more with Coach (Brent) Venables. They weren't really specific on an exact position, but they have offered me for linebacker. They are excited to continue the process."

During the visit, Maguire was able to take in one of Clemson’s practices and see linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Brent Venables up close and he said he could see himself playing in the Tigers’ linebacker corps.

"I definitely think I could be a good fit there," he said. "I like the coaches and their philosophy and the players there. It definitely could be a spot where I could fit in and play to the best of my ability."

Maguire has offers from Alabama, Baylor, Duke, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pitt, Texas A&M and West Virginia among others.

He’s already visited Northwestern and Notre Dame and will visit Ohio State on March 23, but Clemson left a big impression.

"When I was down at Clemson it was definitely a great experience," he said. "That might be the place but I'm certainly going to have to get more acclimated to the place, talk to the coaches more and possibly get my dad down there. My mom was there this weekend, but my dad wasn't able to get down. I would really like to get him down to see what he thinks and talk to my family more. I think they are definitely going to be in my top five. As I go and visit more places I'll be able to know more, what's a leader, what two schools are leaders, something like that."

Last season Maguire totaled 150 tackles with 5 sacks and 3 interceptions at middle linebacker.