A coveted Peach State defender has Clemson “very, very high on his list after a weekend visit.

The Tigers hosted key targets for the 2026 recruiting class at Saturday’s Elite Junior Day and defensive lineman Deuce Geralds was in attendance.

Geralds had a strong connection with Mickey Conm before this weekend, as he’d made the rounds at his high school. Conn had also coached with Geralds’ freshman coach at Grayson High School.

Nick Eason is another coach Geralds was familiar with as he trains with Marcus Howard, who Eason has a “great connection with” because he also trains with Tyler Davis and AJ Hoffler. This made Saturday’s visit even more special because Geralds already felt at home.

“It’s just great because when I got down there, it feel like I already had family down there already,” Geralds told The Clemson Insider. “I have all these (Clemson) players that have been through the same thing that I can connect with.”

After the visit, Geralds was quick to use the word family and it was representative of the experience. He spoke highly of the trust he has with the Tigers program and coaches given the program’s value off the field.

Still, football is obviously a key factor and Geralds said an offer from Clemson would “be amazing” and he would really value it from this program.

“They’re very, very high on my recruiting list right now. So I’ll definitely come back hopefully really, really soon so I can just keep connected,” Geralds said.

Geralds plans to get back on campus during the offseason, potentially for the Dabo Swinney Camp. For his first visit at Clemson, he holds the Tigers in high regards and it was a strong first impression that will pay dividends moving forward.

Photo courtesy of Deuce Geralds(@DeuceGeralds) on X.