When Tyler Grisham hit the road recruiting last week, the first target the wide receiver coach stopped in to see was Taurean Rawlins.
The three-star wideout made his first visit to Clemson for the spring game late last month, and the staff made such an impression that Rawlins quickly locked in an official visit with the Tigers, despite not yet having an offer.
“I was the first guy he came in to see,” Rawlins told The Clemson Insider. “He said he just wanted to keep building the relationship and letting me know they are still interested. We watched some film and stuff, as well.”
Offer or not, the 6-foot wideout is not wavering on his plans to take an official visit to Clemson June 12-14.
“They’ve been saying that they just really like to build that relationship,” Rawlins said. “They told me they like to build the relationship, get me on campus — I went on campus, really enjoyed it. And now they have come to my house too. But I am just being patient it.”
While Rawlins is getting a little anxious when it comes to getting the offer from the Tigers, he is willing to remain patient and fully believes one is coming at some point.
“Maybe even some time before (the official),” Rawlins added. “(Coach Grisham) literally said, ‘We don’t give official visits to guys we don’t plan on offering.'”
As a junior, Rawlins posted just under 1,400 receiving yards with 17 touchdown grabs. He averaged close to 21 yards per catch and 127 yards per game.
As things stand right now, he only has one other official visit scheduled. He will be at Georgia, May 29-31. Rawlins is planning to take at least a couple more, with South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Georgia Tech being the schools under consideration. All those programs have already offered. Rawlins attended the Vanderbilt spring game over the weekend.
As for Clemson, it only took one visit for the wide receiver prospect to know he had a lot of interest, and three weeks later, it remains as strong as it was initially. He just needs it to become official.
“I just really enjoyed it,” Rawlins said. “The school itself was great. The only thing setting them apart from other programs is that they have not offered me yet.”
After he wraps up his official visits, Rawlins will sit down and make a decision. He wants to be committed before the start of his senior season, and Clemson checks a lot of the boxes when it comes to what he is looking for in a school.
“Definitely how I feel when I am with the people, the players and the atmosphere that I am in. If it feels like family,” Rawlins said. “How they develop younger guys. If the young guys kind of just disappear or if they have an actual presence within the program. Those are the biggest things for me.”
Photo courtesy of Taurean Rawlins on X (formerly known as Twitter)