Clemson recruiting former Ohio State commitment as edge rusher/end By ANNA HICKEYFri Jul 30 2021 16 Cover 3: Betting Washington win totals
Clemson hosted four-star prospect Benji Gosnell of Pilot Mountain (N.C.) East Surrey on Thursday. Gosnell de-committed from Ohio State three days ago. He was committed to the Buckeyes as a tight end prospect.
"I hadn't really been talking to Clemson that long recently, probably two weeks," Gosnell said. "I started hearing from Clemson back in April and May of 2020 and all last summer passively here and there. But they weren't recruiting me aggressively, so that led me to Ohio State. If Clemson had aggressively recruited me, that would have held me back from committing to Ohio State.
"I de-committed from Ohio State because it didn't feel right. I didn't feel like that was the place for me. Things change. They understood that. I started talking to coach (Brent) Venables about two weeks ago."
Gosnell, who says he's up to 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, says Clemson likes him as an edge rusher/defensive end prospect.
"Yeah I saw linebacker on some places, but that's not right. A lot of people speculate (linebacker)," Gosnell said. "I"m kind of a bigger dude and Clemson really likes my aggression and defensive mentality for defensive end."
Gosnell spent about eight hours in Clemson on Thursday.
"I was hanging out with the defensive staff and coach Miquel Chavis, coach (Todd) Bates, and coach (Lemanski) Hall for about an hour watching film with them," Gosnell said. "Coach Venables too.