Clemson has reached a major date on its recruiting calendar — the beginning of the Dabo Swinney High School Camp.
Per usual, there are two three-day sessions of the Swinney Camp. The first begins on Tuesday and runs through Thursday, and the second takes place from June 13-15.
Coinciding with Clemson’s elevated profile as a program and rise in recruiting over the last several years, the Swinney Camp has become a destination for the nation’s best recruits. Its appeal is probably as high as ever right now following back-to-back appearances in the national championship game, last season’s national title and the completion of the $55 million Allen Reeves Football Complex.
Along with some of its commitments and a few priority targets in the 2018 class, Clemson will welcome a large group of 2019, 2020 and even 2021 prospects as it continues laying the groundwork and scouting for future classes.
One pertinent 2018 prospect who will compete on Wednesday is McDonough (Ga.) Eagles Landing cornerback Tre Douglas. Douglas, who received an offer from Clemson in December, named the school one of his top seven last month along with Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.
Among the headlining 2019 recruits will be Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren defensive tackle Jacob Lacey, who is expected to compete during all three days of the first session.
Lacey (6-2, 300) most recently visited Clemson for its junior day in March after attending the Louisville game last fall. He has offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Tennessee among others, and covets one from the Tigers.
Lacey will be joined this week by another highly regarded 2019 defensive tackle, Rahway (N.J.) Bergen Catholic’s Antonio Alfano. Aflano (6-5, 255) is slated to make a stop at Clemson on Thursday as part of a college visit tour that includes Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. He has offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA, USC and Virginia Tech among others.
A couple of the quarterbacks set to work out over the next couple of weeks are rising junior Sam Howell and rising sophomore Luke Doty.
Howell (Monroe, N.C.-Sun Valley), who also visited Clemson for the Louisville game last season, has picked up offers from Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Wake Forest since the beginning of May. Maryland was first to offer in December. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-1, 217-pounder threw for 3,217 yards and 38 touchdowns, and ran for 444 yards and 12 scores.
Doty (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) has early offers from Charlotte and Coastal Carolina. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has been a regular participant at the Swinney Camp over the years and also visited for the N.C. State and South Carolina games last season. Doty’s parents and grandparents are big Clemson fans, and so is he.
Several prospects with ties to Clemson will also be on campus in the coming days.
Daleville (Va.) Lord Botetourt offensive lineman Jesse Hanson, another regular participant at the camp in recent years, will compete during the entire first session. Hanson (6-4, 290), whose parents are Clemson alums, collected his first Power Five offers from Iowa State and Virginia in May.
Calhoun (Ga.) 2019 safety Brannon Spector (6-1, 185) will be at the camp all three days this week, as well. He is the son of former Clemson receiver Robbie Spector and brother of Clemson 2017 signee Baylon Spector.
Columbia (S.C.) Irmo rising junior running back Kendrell Flowers (6-0, 190), the nephew of former Clemson running back great Raymond Priester, is slated to compete on Wednesday.
A few notable kickers will showcase their skills this week. The group of specialists will include Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe’s B.T. Potter, Forest City (N.C.) East Rutherford’s Austin Roderick and Blacksburg (Va.)’s Camden Wise.
A handful of Clemson’s 2018 commits will be on campus for next week’s session. The group includes Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy five-star defensive end Xavier Thomas, IMG Academy four-star linebacker Mike Jones, Central (S.C.) Daniel four-star linebacker Jake Venables, Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe four-star receiver Derion Kendrick and Seneca (S.C.) tight end Braden Galloway.
Here is a list of prospects The Clemson Insider has confirmed are planning to camp at Clemson. As always, these lists are fluid. We will of course let you know as we add names to the list or if there are any changes to it.
Tre Douglas, 2018 CB, McDonough (Ga.) Eagles Landing – June 7
Braden Galloway, 2018 TE, Seneca (S.C.) (commit) – second session
Stanley Garner, 2018 CB, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard – June 14
Mike Jones, 2018 LB, Bradeton (Fla.) IMG Academy (commit) – second session
Derion Kendrick, 2018 WR, Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe (commit) – second session
B.T. Potter, 2018 K, Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe – June 7
Xavier Thomas, 2018 DE, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy (commit) – second session
Jake Venables, 2018 LB, Central (S.C.) Daniel (commit) – second session
Camden Wise, 2018 K, Blacksburg (Va.) – June 7
Jalen Alexander, 2019 CB, Grayson (Ga.) – June 7
Antonio Alfano, 2019 DT, Rahway (N.C.) Bergen Catholic – June 8
Johnathan Bennett, 2019 QB, Summerville (S.C.) – first session
Curtis Fann, 2019 DE, Twin City (Ga.) Emanuel County Institute – June 14
Kendrell Flowers, 2019 RB, Columbia (S.C.) Irmo – June 7
Tysheik Galloway, 2019 DT, Honea Path (S.C.) Belton-Honea Path – first session
Nolan Groulx, 2019 WR, Cornelius (N.C.) Hough – June 13
Jesse Hanson, 2019 OL, Daleville (Va.) Lord Botetourt – first session
Sam Howell, 2019 QB, Monroe (N.C.) Sun Valley – June 7
Savion Jackson, 2019 DE, Clayton (N.C.) – June 7
Jacob Lacey, 2019 DT, Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren – first session
Zovon Lindsay, 2019 DT, Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian – June 13-14
Jaren Mangham, 2019 ATH, Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech – June 7
Demetrius Mauney, 2019 ATH, Forest City (N.C.) East Rutherford – June 15
Austin Roderick, 2019 K, Forest City (N.C.) East Rutherford – first session
Garrett Shrader, 2019 QB, Charlotte (N.C.) Charlotte Christian – June 6
Brannon Spector, 2019 S, Calhoun (Ga.) – first session
KeShawn Toney, 2019 TE, Williston (S.C.) Williston-Elko – first session
Paul Tyson, 2019 QB, Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville – first session
Luke Doty, 2020 QB, Myrtle Beach (S.C.) – first session
Brett Nezat, 2020 QB, Mobile (Ala.) Cottage Hill Christian – first session
Marshall Skoloff, 2021 QB, Greenville (S.C.) – first session
We will be rolling out a lot of coverage from the Swinney Camps, so stayed tuned to TCI.