CLEMSON RECRUITING

Clemson the first offer for instate DB

Clemson the first offer for instate DB


by - Senior Writer -

Defensive back Ronnie Geohaghan of Allendale Fairfax High School knows all about Clemson’s football reputation and what the football program has to offer.

But he also knows about the academics offered by the university, and is quick to mention it when asked why Clemson is one of the leaders for one of the state’s top junior safeties.

He specifically mentioned the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), which measures how well teams retain players, keep them academically eligible and ultimately graduate them.

“I like to look at the student graduation rates and what they call the APR,” Geohaghan told TigerNet Monday afternoon. “Academics are big for me. I want to maybe major in biology, and one day go into marine biology. I like studying ecosystems, and the oceans and the environment, and I’ve even been to an environmental camp. That is one reason I really like Clemson, because they want you to get good grades first.”

The 2012 recruit likes to make his mark on the field as well as the classroom – he bench presses 235 pounds, squats 350 pounds, vertically jumps 31.5-inches, runs a 4.31-second pro shuttle and runs a 4.59-second 40-yard dash and holds a 3.2 GPA.

Clemson was the first to offer, and Illinois quickly followed with an offer for the 6-1, 180-pounder.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams that Clemson would be the first to offer,” he said. “I have been up there something like eight times to visit the campus. I love it up there. I would have to say that Clemson and Illinois are my leaders right now, but Georgia Tech, Florida St., Kentucky, Virginia Tech, N.C. State and East Carolina are also showing interest.”

His former teammate at Allendale-Fairfax is current Clemson player Bashaud Breeland, and Geohaghan said he speaks with Breeland, who red-shirted this past season, all the time.

“If I don’t talk to Bashaud every day, I talk to him at least three times a week,” Geohaghan said. “He has told me to not commit too early, to just take my visits, and evaluate all of the schools and what they have to offer and make the best decision for me.”

Eddie Ford is the new head coach at Allendale Fairfax, but he has been a coach at the school for six years, so he has known Geohaghan since he first walked on campus.

“He is academically tough, and he is a ‘yes sir, no sir’ kind of kid,” Ford said. “On top of that, he is a really good football player. He is hard-nosed and as tough as they come. He is just a good guy. If I had to pick one thing I wish he did better, it would be that he would just be a little more vocal. But sometimes when you have a really good senior class and you’re a junior, you don’t wanna step on these guys’ toes.”

Ford said that it was during Geohaghan’s sophomore year that he knew he had a chance to play on the next level.

“He has that speed, and how physical he plays the game really sets him apart,” Ford said. “His sophomore year, he started for us and he really took off. Of course, he was playing with a couple of really good players, like Bashaud.

“He is just one of those players that is right in that line with players like that. He has that knowledge of the game, and guys like that are guys that play the game at a different speed. They have that physical ability that sets them apart, and it makes them look like they are playing faster than everybody else.”

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