Meredith says Malzahn a fan of Morris

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri May 20 14:48:59 GMT-04:00 2011

Chad Morris has already won over many Clemson fans with his tireless efforts on the recruiting trail, and the hopes are that he will win over the rest with on-field success this fall.

But he already has at least two fans outside of the Clemson family – prospect Justin Meredith Justin Meredith

Tight End

6-5, 220

Anderson, SC

View Full Profile and Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

Meredith is the 4-star tight end out of Anderson’s T.L. Hanna High School who has the Tigers high on his list of suitors, and Malzahn is a friend of Morris who just happened to win the National Championship this past season.

Meredith, who will visit Auburn at some point in the next two weeks, said he is a big fan of Morris’ and has even spoken to Malzahn about the Tigers’ new coordinator.

“He is a class act,” Meredith said of Morris. “He seems to know exactly what he is doing, and that is one of the biggest things I have noticed. We stay in regular contact with each other. Gus Malzahn told me ‘If you don’t come to Auburn, then Chad Morris is a great guy to be coached by.’ That tells you a lot, when coaches at other schools tell you he is a pretty good coach.”

Meredith runs a sub 4.6 40-yard dash, and wants to build off of strong sophomore and junior seasons for the Yellow Jackets. As a sophomore, Meredith caught 24 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown. As a junior, despite a shoulder injury that cost him time, he still managed to catch 20 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns in an offense that leans heavily on the ground game.

Last week, Morris stopped by Hanna just to check in on Meredith.

“They called me down and said he was here at the school,” Meredith. “There are rules, so we couldn’t really talk. But he told my coaches that he would back in the afternoon to watch practice, and he came back, which was great.”

Hanna’s practices have seen a number of college coaches this spring, including coaches from Notre Dame, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Duke and N.C. State, and Meredith said he hopes all of the extra attention filters down to his teammates.

“It’s great that we have so many people coming in, because we have a couple of guys who are right on the border of getting offers,” Meredith said. “Our running back actually has an offer from Wofford [Will Gay], but he is trying to pick up a FBS offer. They [coaches] are coming out there, and they are talking to me, so I always put in a good word for my teammates.”

Meredith said he is going to visit North Carolina this weekend, followed by a trip to see Malzahn and the other Tigers the following weekend, and will begin the process of making a decision shortly thereafter.

“I am probably going to narrow it down real soon,” he said. “I am going to have a top five in the next couple of weeks, and I would like to make my decision before the season starts. And Clemson is definitely going to be in my top five.”