Clemson senior linebacker James Skalski has been impressed by what he’s seen from members of the Tigers’ freshman class through the first two days of fall camp.

Clemson’s 2020 class, which consists of 15 players who enrolled in January along with eight summer enrollees, was ranked among the top three classes in the country by ESPN (No. 1), Rivals (No. 2) and the 247Sports Composite (No. 3).

Highly touted freshmen such as former five-star quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and former five-star defensive lineman Bryan Bresee are just a couple of the first-year players that have caught Skalski’s eye on the practice fields.

“We’ve got a bunch of dudes, man,” Skalski said. “I think the rank speaks for itself. These guys are real talented, the Bresee’s and the D.J.’s and (cornerback) Malcolm Greene – just a lot of guys that can make plays and are flying around.”

Skalski also spoke highly of one of the freshmen in his own position group, former five-star Trenton Simpson, a relatively raw but outstanding athlete who didn’t start playing linebacker until his junior year of high school.

Simpson, a midyear enrollee who went through spring practice, continues to make progress in his development according to Skalski, who expects Simpson to flourish under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

“He had a pick today, made a great play today,” Skalski said. “Freaky talented guy. People don’t know, man, that guy was a running back in high school. I mean, he’s only been playing linebacker for a year. So, he’s got all the talent in the world, and playing under a guy like V, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to be an All-American one day. But freaky talented. Just still growing, still coming into his shell, but he’s figuring it out quickly.”

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