By Hale McGranahan.

Jay Jay McCargo first visited Clemson when he was a freshman at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia.

When Clemson offered McCargo last fall, he decided that a return trip was in order.

“We were on our way to Georgia and we stopped in Clemson,” he said of his first visit. “We ended up getting a tour kind of randomly — that was the first time. We experienced it and I liked it from then on, so when they offered we wanted to get back down, and we’re glad we did.”

Now, a three-star junior offensive tackle, McCargo was in town last month for the Elite Junior Day event.

“It was good. I got to meet more of the coaching staff and I talked with coach (Dabo) Swinney some,” McCargo said. “I got to see more of the campus than I did before and it was a good trip, too. I got to ask more questions that I had. I got to know some things about the academics, so it got me really excited about Clemson.”

Clemson’s run of academic success impressed him the most.

“If you’re going to go to Clemson, you’re going to graduate,” McCargo said. That’s one thing that we heard and that was a really good thing to hear. You’re going to graduate, that’s the first thing. And you’re also going to win, so those are two really great things.”

As for the football, McCargo said Clemson is “on the cusp of being in the College Football Playoff.

“They’re a really good football program. They win and they’re going to win more. They definitely do it the right way down there.”

After the Clemson Junior Day, McCargo went to Virginia Tech’s. Visits to N.C. State, UNC and Duke are also in the works. He also hopes to see Tennessee and West Virginia.