Nation's top linebacker prospect for 2020 recaps awesome Clemson visit

Sampah is shown here on a visit to Clemson last June

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Nov 05 13:03:50 GMT-04:00 2018

One of the nation’s top linebackers for the 2020 recruiting cycle made his first visit to Clemson for last weekend’s big win over Louisville, and now the Tigers are fighting for a spot at the top of his list.

Antoine Sampah is a 5-star out of Woodbridge (VA) that is listed as the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect in the country (and No. 10 nationally regardless of position) for his class. Sampah has an impressive list of offers that includes Clemson and ranges from Alabama to Wisconsin.

Sampah visited Clemson for head coach Dabo Swinney’s high school camp but was able to experience a gameday atmosphere in the Tigers’ 77-16 dismantling of Louisville.

"Yesterday (Saturday) was great. I enjoyed my time around campus and at the game. It was an awesome first experience for me," Sampah said. "The family atmosphere truly stood out for me and was impressive. Clemson is a great team, they compete at a high level and they showed that yesterday."

The lead recruiter for Sampah’s services is linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Brent Venables, and the two spent time in conversation Saturday. He also spent time with Swinney.

"Coach V showed me a lot of love and we were able to talk about the game, what I saw in the defense and special teams, then the conversation transitioned to just life overall, family, football, academics and my future," he said. "I also was able to see Coach Swinney for a moment and he was excited that I made it down for the first time. My focus now is to come back down again soon and continue to make this relationship strong."

The recruiting process is still unfolding for Sampah but he feels after this first visit to Clemson the Tigers have carved out a spot on his short list when he announces one.

"Clemson is a special place and it feels good to be needed and wanted by the staff and fans," Sampah said. "The facilities are incredible. The people are genuine. It feels like family. Clemson is competing at the top of my list."

Sampah plans to release a top eight going into 2019. Some of his other offers include Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Tennessee, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin.