Top linebacker out of Georgia thrilled with Clemson offer

Ojulari at a Clemson practice earlier this spring

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Tue May 02 07:01:02 GMT-04:00 2017

Brent Venables and Mickey Conn made one Georgia linebacker very happy this week.

Venables, Clemson’s defensive coordinator, made the trip down to Marietta (GA) earlier this week with area recruiter and defensive backs coach Mickey Conn to check in with 2018 4-star outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, and they didn’t leave before extending a verbal offer.

Ojulari, who sits at No. 271 in the ESPN300, had no idea an offer was on the way.

“I’m very excited about it. It happened this morning. I was taking a milestone test, and my coach told me Clemson was coming to visit, so I knew they were coming to my school, but I didn’t know they were coming to offer,” Ojulari told TigerNet. “I was taking a test, and when I was finished we were allowed to use our phones, so I see Coach Venables, and Coach Conn messaged me and told me they came by to offer me, so I was all happy.

He then said he is building a solid relationship with Venables that goes beyond football.

“I keep up with them. I went up there for a visit, and it was great,” he said. “Coach Venables is always hitting me up on Twitter, and I always message him back, so we’ve been talking for a while. I’ve been talking to Coach Conn a lot, too.

“He always checks on me to make sure I’m straight. There’s more than just football. I like the family culture at Clemson. I remember my first visit, and it was great. It’s all about family, and they care about you there.”

Ojulari made the trek to Clemson for one of the Tigers’ spring practices, and while he was there, he got to check out the new football operations center.

“It was great. I got to go down the slide, too,” he said. “It was so fast. I didn’t think it would be that high. I had on sweatpants, so I went a little faster. Everything was great about it.”

Ojulari has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida St., Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Virginia Tech among others, but says the Tigers will be in his top group.

“I know they’re going to be in my top group for sure because they’re recruiting me hard, so they’re going to be at the top of my list,” he said. “I’m going to have a top group by the summer or before. I’ll probably make a decision midway through the season or after the season.”

What will his school of choice be like?

“First, it will be somewhere I can get my degree,” Ojulari said. “I want to be able to come in and make an impact and help the team. It will be somewhere that feels like home that I can enjoy the next four or five years.”

What stands out about Clemson?

“The culture. The family culture,” Ojulari said. “All in. How everyone there is so welcoming and is like family. They care about you. They stand out more than the other schools.”

He said he hopes to make it back to Clemson for a visit either over the summer or for an official visit during the season.