Jaden Wuerth’s visit to Clemson for the Elite Retreat only solidified his feelings for Dabo Swinney’s program.

The three-star in-state defensive tackle (Dutch Fork) had already visited enough times in the past to have a good idea regarding what the program has to offer. This visit only drove those feelings home.

“It went great,” Wuerth told The Clemson Insider. “I loved every part of it.”

One of the highlights was Swinney’s speech he gave to recruits, which went around three hours this year. The 6-foot-3, 275-pound recruit was moved by how transparent Swinney was.

“I would say Dabo’s speech,” Wuerth added. “It is just him opening up to who he is. He is being extremely transparent. He is not hiding anything. Just being truthful. He is not scared to shy anyone away by telling the truth. He is going to tell you the truth regardless. Whether you like it or not, that is up to you.”

Another thing that stood out was some of the things Clemson has to offer off the football field.

“We went to the business school,” Wuerth said. “That resonated with me. How they took the time out of a football recruiting trip to talk about academics and outside of school. It wasn’t just all football.”

Wuerth was accompanied by his dad on the trip, as well as his sister.

“He’s been there a couple of times with me,” Wuerth said. “He loved it. He enjoyed talking to everyone as well. He enjoyed it a lot.”

As a junior, which was also his first season at Dutch Fork, Wuerth registered 62 tackles with 12 tackles for loss in helping the Silver Foxes to another state title. He also had four sacks and three forced fumbles.

Following his productive campaign, Wuerth picked up his offer from the Tigers. It came in January, and since then, all other teams have been playing catch-up to the Tigers.

“I was ecstatic,” Wuerth said. “I have been up there a few times and been to camp and stuff. I was just happy that I earned the offer. That one just meant a lot.”

Wuerth will head to Georgia Tech this weekend, then South Carolina the next. Duke, Maryland and Virginia Tech are also set to get spring visits.

Wuerth also plans to take some officials in the summer. While it has yet to be officially locked in, he is pretty confident he will be at Clemson’s big weekend May 29-31.

While he readily admits that, as things stand right now, the Tigers are in the driver’s seat and by a fairly wide margin, he isn’t ready to shut things down just yet. He wants to take more visits just to be sure, the makle a decision sometime in July.

However, the Elite Retreat set an extremely high bar, one that will be tough to match.

“Pretty big,” Wuerth said of the gap between Clemson and the next team. “Right now, Clemson is at the very top for me. It is just the welcoming feel. I have not been anywhere yet that feels like Clemson does. I feel like I will be set up to succeed not only football-wise but also outside of football. They will turn me into a great person and a great football player.”

Photo by Bart Boatwright