A couple of Fridays ago during Clemson’s bye week, tight ends coach Danny Pearman traveled to Big Stone Gap, Va., to watch four-star tight end James Mitchell of Union High School.

Mitchell, a top-10 prospect in Virginia and top-200 prospect in the 2018 class, recorded around four receptions for 50 yards and a score during the game despite only playing about a half due to the score.

The Clemson Insider caught up with Mitchell, who said it “means a lot” that Pearman came to see him play.

“It means a lot that he drove all the way down here,” Mitchell said. “It shows me that they’re really interested in me.”

What did Mitchell hear from Pearman while he was there?

“He wasn’t able to say much,” Mitchell said, “but he just told me to play hard and play my game, do what I was capable of doing.”

Mitchell carries offers from Duke, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder impressed with his performance at the Dabo Swinney Camp over the summer and visited Clemson for the Tigers’ game against Louisville earlier this season. He also attended Clemson’s game against Florida State last year.

Though Clemson hasn’t offered, Mitchell said Clemson is showing substantial interest.

“I’d say they are very interested,” Mitchell said, “probably just as (much) if not more than most schools recruiting me.”

Mitchell is a versatile weapon in the passing game with good length. If Clemson opts to offer in the future, it could shake things up in Mitchell’s recruitment.

“That’d be huge for me,” Mitchell told TCI last month. “The program coach (Dabo) Swinney’s created, the tradition and the atmosphere is something not everybody gets a chance to experience.”

Right now, Mitchell and Union are 8-1 on the season.

“It’s going really well,” Mitchell said. “Scoring in a variety of ways.”

In addition to Clemson, Mitchell has been to Virginia Tech, Virginia and Notre Dame this season.