CLEMSON RECRUITING

T.J. Chase close to being cleared, says
Chase hopes to be on campus by the end of the month

T.J. Chase close to being cleared, says "you should never give up"


by - Staff Writer -

T.J. Chase is ready to move into Clemson.

The 2016 wide receiver commit could be the last member of the 2016 recruiting class to arrive on campus, providing the NCAA Clearinghouse clears him in the next 48 hours. The 4-star prospect out of Plant City (FL) received his high school diploma Thursday, hopefully paving the way for him to join the Clemson football team this fall.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney told the media Tuesday that Chase was close to qualifying, but if he didn’t get cleared would go to a prep school and join Clemson in January. As of now, it looks like the prep school route will be avoided.

Chase told TigerNet he was ready to get to campus.

“I'm a Tiger for sure. I move to Clemson on July 31st,” Chase said after he heard the news. “It's very exciting. It just goes to show that you should never give up. If you put your mind to it, then anything can happen. I'm glad I don't have to take the prep school route.”

Chase said he had to take a lot of tests and navigate several obstacles in order to cleared in time for school to start.

“I took so many tests and I kept getting knocked out and not getting what I wanted, so I just had to keep going at it and keep grinding and eventually I had to improve my math score. I did it,” he said.

Even though all of the other recruits have either been on campus since January or June, Chase said he feels like he still come in and make an impact.

“I can't make up for the time that I've missed but I'm going to go in there with a chance because I've been working at home,” he said. “I'm just going to come in and do my best because I've got my mind made up that I'm going to come in and give it everything I've got. Only God knows and he has a plan for a reason.”

Chase said hearing from the NCAA is usually a 48-hour process, and he hopefully will be officially cleared by early next week if not this weekend. Once he’s cleared, he can travel to his new home and meet his new roommate.

“I can’t wait to get up there and get everything started,” he said. “I am not sure who my roommate will be. The coaches said Tavien Feaster, but I'm not totally sure. I'm still waiting on a couple of things because it all takes a couple of days.”

As a senior, Chase had 32 receptions for 593 yards and nine touchdowns. On defense, he had 90 tackles, two interceptions and nine pass breakups. As a junior, Chase had 25 catches for 521 yards and five touchdowns. As a sophomore, he had 28 receptions for 562 yards and 4 touchdowns. On defense, he had 43 tackles and 3 interceptions.

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