It won’t take long for Clemson to get its top linebacker target back on campus.
2028 four-star Jay Schell (Rabun Gap, GA) tells The Clemson Insider that he plans to visit for the Tigers’ home opener against Georgia Southern on September 12.
On Wednesday, Schell revealed that he is down to just Clemson and Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound prospect picked up his offer from Clemson on June 1, becoming the first player in his class to hold one from the Tigers. Schell was on campus that day, and the staff was able to extend the offer to him face-to-face.
“Clemson has always meant a lot to me, so I was hoping it would be a June 1 type of thing,” Schell recently told The Clemson Insider. “Coach Boulware had been talking to my coach about trying to get it figured out for me to come, and my team was coming at 2pm, but (Boulware) told my coach he wanted it to be a little more special for me. Coach Boulware met me at the front, and there was no one in the facility, so I was a little bit confused. He walked us to a room I had never been in before. It was the staff room. Every single staff member was in there, and as soon as me and my family walked in, everyone started clapping and cheering. It was really cool.”
“It really meant a lot. They did not just call me on the phone and offer me. They brought me in. That was really cool, just to know I was number one on their board to offer me first. They made me feel like a priority for sure, and it was an experience I will never forget. They just made it really special.”
Schell is also a legacy recruit. His father, Matt Schell, served as a quarterback at Clemson during the Tommy Bowden years, meaning the blue-chip linebacker has been a fairly frequent visitor over the years.
As one of the top linebacker recruits in his class, Schell has already accumulated close to 50 offers, with almost every major program having extended one at one point or another.
As a sophomore, Schell logged 77 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, three sacks and 12 quarterback hurries. ESPN ranks him as the top linebacker in the class. The Rivals Industry Rankings slot him at No. 9 among all players at the position, No. 129 overall and No. 16 in the state of Georgia.