CLEMSON — Kharim Hughley put on a show during the afternoon session of Dabo Swinney’s high school camp on Friday.
The four-star Clemson quarterback commit was spotted inside the indoor facility before the beginning of the session, hanging out with some of the wide receivers who were getting ready to work out. Then, not long after the session started, Hughley joined the quarterbacks and before the work out was over, the blue-chip talent had absolutely proved who he is.
We’re talking about a kid who has been committed since last July. There was no reason for him to work out, outside of his competitive spirit and wanting to get some coaching from Chad Morris and Tajh Boyd. And once he started throwing, it was hard for some of the onlookers to watch anything else.
During one of the first drills, when the quarterbacks are throwing into holes in a net from about 10-15 yards out, Hughley was routinely putting the ball in the back of the hole. One after another.
In one of the later drills, when the quarterbacks were throwing to receivers, Hughley had no problems hitting pass catchers in the hands and in stride. From the shorter throws to the deep ones. His deep balls are things of beauty. Only once did I see him put too much air under one. The rest were absolute dimes.
His footwork was impeccable, his delivery was smooth and he’s definitely got the arm. He was getting the ball out so quickly on some of the intermediate throws that his receivers were having trouble reeling them in. It was readily apparent most of those guys weren’t used to the ball getting on them so quickly.
However, there has never been much to question when it comes to his ability. On Friday, we got to see a part of what makes him tick. The fact that he chose to work out when he did not have to, and it was his decision, says a lot about the Tigers’ quarterback of the future.
As noted earlier, 2028 four-star QB Tristin Gaines (Waller, TX) worked out on Friday. The 6-foot-1 signal caller turned in one of the better performances from a quarterback this week.
Watching Gaines work out, it’s not hard to see why Rivals ranks him among the Top 100 players in the class and as one of the Top 10 QBs. The ball just comes out of his hand so smoothly. He almost makes it look effortless.
I would rank Gaines’ performance right up there with that of four-star QB Trey Wright’s earlier in the week. Ironically, another QB from the Lone Star State. When the quarterback offers go out, it wouldn’t be surprising to me to see one of those guys end up with one, if not both.
