Top football prospects will be in Clemson this weekend

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Feb 19 13:40:52 GMT-04:00 2010

CLEMSON – Juniors will be taking Clemson by storm on Saturday as Clemson coaches host the first of two Junior Days for prospects.

Junior Day is an opportunity for many of the top prospects in the Southeast to visit Clemson as part of a larger group, and there are expected to be somewhere between 40 and 50 juniors who will arrive on campus early Saturday morning.

The recruits will take the usual tour of the university facilities, including Death Valley, the West End Zone and Vickery Hall. Then many of the recruits will take in Clemson’s 4 p.m. men’s basketball game against the University of Virginia at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Once the game is over, the recruits are free to leave. Because Junior Day is a one day event, if prospects choose to stay overnight, they have to do so at their own expense [which explains why most of the prospects are within easy driving distance of Clemson].

Here is a look at some of the top prospects that are expected to be on hand Saturday:

Many of Clemson’s 2011 commitments will be on hand, including Wren’s OT Shaq Anthony, Daniel’s DT DeShaun Williams, ATH Robert Smith of Woodland and QB Tony McNeal of Chester.

Also coming in are DT Devonte Brown (Jack Britt High, Fayetteville, NC). Brown has offers from N.C. State, Duke and UNC, and has drawn interest from Clemson and Tennessee.

DE Clay Burton (Venice Beach, FL). Burton already has an offer from the Tigers, but this will be his first official visit to the campus.

RB Shon Carson (Lake City, SC). Carson might be the top running back in the state in 2011. Clemson has offered, and looks to be in pretty good shape. Much like Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker, Carson is a baseball prospect who will look to play both sports in college.

CB Justin Coleman (Brunswick High, GA). Coleman has already visited Georgia Tech for their Junior Day, and his interest in the Yellow Jackets is growing. It will be interesting to see what he thinks of Clemson after his visit Saturday. Also has offers from Kentucky, Oklahoma St. and West Virginia.

DT Phillip Dukes (Manning, SC). Rated the No. 10 DT in the nation by Scout. Leaning toward Clemson right now, but also has offers from South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama.

DL Kyle Harris (Lindale, GA). Already has offers from Maryland and Cincinnati and has drawn interest from most of the big schools across the region.

QB Shamier Jeffery (Calhoun County). Also getting looks at wide receiver and has offers from Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina.

OT Jerome Maybank (Waccamaw). Clemson sits in the driver’s seat with Maybank. He was at the Clemson/FSU game this past season. Clemson, South Carolina and North Carolina are currently Maybank’s top three.

OT Quincy McKinney (Carver, GA). McKinney has offers from Clemson, Duke and Georgia Tech. Clemson looks to be in good shape here, because McKinney was teammates this past season with David Beasley and Corey Crawford, recent Tiger signees.

OLB Sam Merriman (Cheraw). Clemson and South Carolina have both offered Merriman, with Georgia and North Carolina also showing interest.

OL Ryan Norton (Mauldin). Clemson has already offered Norton, who currently has Clemson in the lead. Georgia Tech is also a strong possibility for Norton. However, the state’s top center prospect could be in line to commit to Clemson this weekend.

TE Drew Owens (Charlotte, NC). Owens is receiving offers from all the big boys, and might visit N.C. State as well as Clemson this weekend, and then will visit Virginia Tech next weekend.

WR Charone Peake (Dorman HS). Peake is ultra-talented, and Clemson is the leader here. Peake has said he will not commit early, but he will more than likely be a mid-year enrollee and a commitment could come soon from this 4-star prospect.

OLB Terrance Smith (Southwest Dekalb GA). Smith is the son of a former Clemson receiver, the late Terry Smith. The Tigers have already offered Smith, but once again are fighting Georgia Tech for his services.

LB Lateek Townsend (Marlboro County). The confusion over whether Townsend would visit Clemson or South Carolina this weekend appears to be over, and Townsend will be in Clemson. The Tigers are in good shape. He is also good friends with LB Justin Parker, the recent Clemson signee.

DE Stephon Tuitt (Monroe, GA). Clemson, Georgia and Florida have already offered Tuitt. Tuitt is making his third visit to Clemson in the last nine months, including a visit to the Clemson/TCU game this past fall.

QB C.J. Uzomah (North Gwinnett, GA). The Tigers need quarterbacks in next year’s class, and Uzomah already has an offer in hand from the Tigers. Rated as one of the Top 10 QBs in the country by many services. Uzomah has said a commitment will probably not happen until this summer.

QB Marquise Williams (Mallard Creek, NC). Williams claims 15 offers, including one from Clemson and others from UNC, LSU, Notre Dame, Florida and Georgia. He is a dual-threat quarterback.