[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] loves him some [autotag]Tre Lamar[/autotag].

Thanks to the NCAA’s rules regarding early enrollees and financial aid agreements, the Clemson defensive coordinator was allowed to speak on the record with TheClemsonInsider about the four-star linebacker from Roswell, Ga.

“He comes from a great family,” Venables said. “He’s a great young man, very intelligent, excellent student, great worker, loves the game. He’s a gym rat. He’s got really good football intelligence. He’s got a great physical presence to him. He runs very well. He comes from a very good program. He’s extremely well coached and very humble.”

Venables added, “He’s hard working, tough, very low-maintenance, very low-maintenance. You’re not going to worry about him being out on the streets he shouldn’t be doing.”

When prospects with that kind of make-up are the “foundation” of a program, Venables thinks good things are in store.

“If that’s your foundation, you’re going to win a lot of games, because he’s talented,” he said. “You can’t have all those things and not be talented and not feel really good, necessarily. You can, too, but when he’s really talented like that, he’s going to attract other guys like that. He has a strong future.”

At 6-foot-4, 240-pounds, Lamar fits the bill for the type of middle linebacker Venables hopes to attract to [autotag]Clemson[/autotag].

“If you’re going to be good on defense, you’ve got to be strong up the middle, even in the spread game. Having a big, physical presence there is certainly a good thing,” Venables said. “You’ve got to be able to run and move and transition. Ideally, you’re recruiting guys that can stay on the field for three downs.

“This game isn’t quite as much about match-ups as the NFL. It just doesn’t have the same precision and same freaks, across the board. Occasionally, you’ll have a freak, so you better have some answers, but I think it’s important to our style of play when you have that kind of strength up the middle.”

Venables believes Lamar has the ability to be an every down player for the Tigers.

“I wouldn’t be happy if he wasn’t. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t,” Venables said.