On the heels of Tuesday afternoon’s note about a former LSU commitment, The Clemson Insider has more news to pass along this morning.
The report briefly mentioned the plans for a return to Clemson by 2018 athlete Justin Watkins, who was once committed to LSU. He’ll be back later this month with his North Marion High School teammate, Blake Vinson.
Vinson committed a day after he was in Clemson for January’s Junior Day. He’s scheduled to have Watkins with him on the 23rd for spring practice.
Long-term, that’s good news for Clemson. Vinson made multiple trips to the school before he committed and one would expect that him to make relatively frequent trips from Citra, Fla. That, presumably, will afford Watkins plenty of opportunities to see Clemson in the future.
Jeff Scott offered in December, after Watkins rushed 155 times for 1,350 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also piled up 462 kick return yards and scored four touchdowns.
At Clemson, Watkins could play multiple positions, particularly on the offensive side of the ball as a running back or 2 wide receiver position.
Movement by the hoops staff
In addition to Tuesday night’s game against Virginia, Brad Brownell’s staff had a busy night. They hosted and offered two prospects: 2017 combo guard Michael Okauru (Raleigh-Ravenscroft) and 2018 wing Sharone Wright Jr. (West Florence).
Wright, of course, is the son of the former Clemson great. Junior (6-4, 170) also holds offers from Georgia and California.
“It means a lot,” he said of Clemson’s offer. “It’s a great feeling to be offered by them and know that they want me to be apart of the team in 2018.
“I’m really close with all of the coaches and players there and they show a lot of love whenever I’m in town, whether it’s football or basketball. They treat me like I’m really apart of the team when I’m there.”
Okauru (6-3, 175) and his family met with Brownell and Steve Smith upon his arrival to Greenville on Tuesday morning. After picking up the offer from Brownell, Okauru rode to Clemson for a tour around the campus before returning to Greenville for the game.
Rutgers, but he’s also hearing from Kansas, UNC, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Georgia. Smith, who’s the recruiter of record for Clemson, has been to Ravenscroft several times to evaluate Okauru.
“Coach Brownell just came this past week. He saw me in the state tournament. He said he really liked the way I played,” Okauru said.
More Junior Day guests
TCI three more names to pass along as guests for Saturday’s Junior Day in Clemson:
2019 DE Zacch Pickens – T.L. Hanna
2018 DL/TE Stephon Wynn Jr. – T.L. Hanna
2018 ATH Markeith Montgomery – Rossville, Ga.
Four-star running back Cordarrian Richardson (Memphis) and 2017 wide receiver commitment Amari Rodgers will be in town, along with 2018 defensive end Xavier Thomas (Florence) and quarterback Trevor Lawrence (Cartersville, Ga.). Defensive end Tre Lawson (North Augusta) and offensive tackle Summie Carlay (Laurens) have also been confirmed.