By Hale McGranahan.

Last Wednesday, Suwanee-Peachtree Ridge five-star safety DeAngelo Gibbs visited Tigertown with outside linebacker Breon Dixon.

The sophomore teammates watched Clemson’s final spring practice before the Tigers broke for spring break.

“I had a great experience, it was real cool and I got a chance to talk to the coaches, coach (Tony) Elliott, coach (Mike) Reed and coach (Dabo) Swinney, so it was real cool.

“I went with Breon, too, so we just saw them practice and got a little tour, saw the facilities, got a chance to stand on the field and see the highlight tape, so it was real cool.”

It wasn’t the first visit to Clemson for Gibbs, who’s the country’s top-ranked cornerback and the No. 5 overall prospect in the class of 2017, according to 247.

“I’ve been up there for a couple of practices and spring practice. I haven’t been up there for a game or anything, but I plan on getting up there for a game,” Gibbs said.

Rated by Rivals as a five-star safety, Gibbs was impressed by the way things operate on the practice fields in Tigertown.

“It was really organized. They had everything on schedule,” he said. “They did a little scrimmaging. It was cool, I got a chance to see how the coaches really are…it was what I expected from the coaches. It was real fast-paced and everything was on time, so I liked that.”

What message did Swinney and the rest of the Clemson coaches have for Gibbs?

“They didn’t give me a lot of recruiting lines. They really like me down there in Clemson. They were just telling me to stay focused and just try to get back up there some more.

“They were telling me how it’s like a family up there, and it really is. They were telling me how Clemson is a family environment. And, if you think about, they have their kids running around out there. It’s a family environment, so I liked that.

“It’s not that big and that spaced out. Their campus was real cool, I liked it.”

In addition to the visit to Clemson, Gibbs has also been to Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee this spring. He’ll head down to Florida this weekend.

Gibbs suffered a season-ending knee injury during Peachtree Ridge’s first game in 2014. In one half against Archer, he caught six passes for 142 yards with a touchdown.