The next shoe might be ready to drop in terms of Clemson expanding its board for perhaps a single 2016 cornerback take.
Gibsonton (Fla.) East Bay defensive back K.J. Sails stood out among the morning performers Tuesday at the Dabo Swinney Football Camp.
Sails (5-11, 163) was among those on the bus tour from Tampa, Fla., that annually stops at Clemson – and produced 2015 five-star signees Ray-Ray McCloud and Deon Cain.
Clemson would represent perhaps his biggest offer, as his offer sheet includes Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Wake Forest, South Florida and Georgia Southern.
He would mark the second 2016 cornerback offer distributed this camp, following on the heels of New Orleans (La.) Holy Cross three-star Kyle Meyers picking one up Monday night.
*****
We also would be surprised if an offer isn’t around the corner for Florence (S.C.) Wilson 2018 defensive end Xavier Thomas.
Thomas (6-3, 235) has drawn rave reviews from several of our contacts.
Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee and Nebraska have already offered. He has taken a strong liking to FSU since it offered first and he has yet to garner one from his childhood and family favorite, South Carolina.
*****
An offer that did go out was to Cartersville (Ga.) 2018 quarterback Trevor Lawrence, whom we wrote about here last week.
Lawrence (6-5, 183) did not work out but spent some time with quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter before Streeter gave way to Deshaun Watson for a few minutes.
Watson isn’t necessarily the vocal recruiter type, and Clemson tends to be careful to manage how much he has to recruit because of the obvious demand; every prospect wants to meet him.
So the fact Watson was pulled into the equation here speaks volumes about the stature of Lawrence – who already has offers from LSU, Tennessee, Duke and others. Lawrence grew up a Tennessee fan, but Clemson has some help here.
*****
A handful of young receivers worth tracking have worked out for co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott this week; the Tigers never have trouble attracting talent at the position.
The best performer we’ve seen in non-competitive drills has been Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic 2017 mid-three star Amari Rodgers.
Rodgers (5-9, 197), the son of USC assistant coach and former Tennessee standout Tee Martin, demonstrated consistent ball skills, good feet and burst during Tuesday’s workout.
USC has offered, along with Duke, Vanderbilt and Ohio.
*****
A lot of attention Tuesday afternoon was devoted to several 2019s – yes, rising high school freshmen – on campus.
We’ve referenced Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna 2018 defensive end Stephon Wynn Jr. on numerous occasions. The Yellow Jackets might have a superior defensive end prospect in 2019 Zacch Pickens (6-4, 225), who spent considerable time with defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
Clemson also played host to Loganville (Ga.) Grayson 2019 linebacker/safety Owen Pappoe.
Pappoe (6-1, 190) already owns offers from Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, Miami and others. Florida State and Alabama have told him they intend to offer once he visits within the week.
Clemson has several connections here, and co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott planned to take Pappoe on a campus tour after the afternoon session.
*****
EXTRA POINTS …
North Charleston (S.C.) Fort Dorchester four-star lineman John Simpson worked out again Tuesday afternoon. He was joined this time by his 2016 teammate, tackle Chris Morales. Morales holds an East Carolina offer.
Greer (S.C.) cornerback Troy Pride spoke briefly with Clemson coaches, but an offer has not been discussed. Pride, a Virginia Tech commitment, is looking to visit new offer Notre Dame within the week.
NOTE: Please do not copy/paste or summarize any portion of this post to other message boards or chat rooms. Thank you.
