By Hale McGranahan.

One of the first prospects that Clemson coaches checked on this season was Mecole Hardman, a 2016 athlete from Elbert County High School in Georgia.

Running backs coach Tony Elliott stopped by Stephens County High School on Sept. 5 to see Elbert win its season opener, 35-33. Hardman put on a show for the Tigers’ assistant.

“I had a passing touchdown, I had a rushing touchdown, I had an 83-yard touchdown run. I rushed for 161, 162 (yards) and passed for 101 (yards), so I had an overall good game. I had two pass breakups,” Hardman said.

Elliott spoke with him after the game.

“He said how I showed a lot of determination, toughness and heart. He said that’s what Clemson needs. He said I had a good game. He said, overall, I did a good job,” Hardman said.

There’s a steady line of communication between Elliott and the four-star prospect.

“I talk to him once every week,” Hardman said. “I’ll call him up…we’ll just talk about stuff, not even about football all the time, but about family, how is school going, this and that.”

Clemson offered Hardman as a wide receiver after a strong showing during Saturday’s session of the Dabo Swinney Football Camp. Hardman returned to the Clemson campus a day later with his parents.

“They showed me the facilities. I got to talk to coach Swinney one on one, so it was good,” he said.

“I loved it. The campus was nice. It’s a great campus. It’s more like a real campus…I love the facilities. They’ve got a nice indoor (practice building). They’ve got great facilities. I liked most of the facilities, so that’s a good thing.”

Hardman will make his return to Clemson later this season for the South Carolina game.

He’s already made a pair of campus visits this season: Georgia for the Clemson game and South Carolina for the Georgia game. He’ll be back in Athens this weekend for the Tennessee game. Tennessee will host him for the Florida game. Florida will then have him on campus for the LSU game.

“My top five is Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Clemson. That’s not in any particular order besides Tennessee. Tennessee is my leader right now. The rest is in no order,” Hardman said.

“The coaching staff is great. The facilities are second-to-none,” Hardman said. “I mean, I can’t say too much about it. It’s a great place. Neyland Stadium, that’s a pretty loud environment, so it’s a great campus. It’s a nice, pretty environment, great fans. I feel like I’m home.

“I’ve been there a lot of times. I’ve bonded with some of the players. I really can’t explain why. It’s just that Tennessee is above everyone right now.”