One of the top tight ends in the next recruiting class returned to Clemson recently for the Spring Elite Day.
Three-star Lee Steele (Orange Beach, AL) made his first visit last season for the win over Florida State, making this the second time he’s visited the school. This most recent visit gave Steele a much better understanding of what Dabo Swinney’s program stands for.
“Coach Swinney and Coach (Kyle) Richardson, they make your visit not all about football,” Steele told The Clemson Insider. “They go into detail about PAW Journey. They show you their history of what they have done as a program and what the coaching staff has done.”
The 6-foot-6, 217-pound prospect was one of just three tight ends on hand for the event, and one thing that stood out was the culture that resides inside the program.
“They have 28 former players on their coaching staff,” Steele said. “It just feels real and authentic there. They are not hiding anything there. They are not faking anything. They tell you the weaknesses of the program and they tell you the strengths.”
Steele already holds offers from Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Auburn, among others, and he’s striving to add one from Clemson to his ever-growing list. The Tigers won’t start offering players in his class until the summer, and Steele plans to return to campus and work out at camp on June 6.
“You know it is Clemson, you know it is Dabo Swinney and you know it is a program that is going to be successful,” Steele said. “But with their process, if you commit, they shut down their recruitment of other guys. That just sets off a bunch of relief for a high school kid. But Clemson is the most authentic place I have been to.”
The 247 Composite ranks Steele No. 171 overall and as the sixth-best tight end in his class. As a sophomore, he reeled in 25 catches for 341 yards with one touchdown. He also picked off two passes and recovered a fumble on the defensive side of the ball.
Knowing how selective Clemson is when it comes to the recruiting process, Steele feels honored to be one of those players in the mix for one of those hard-to-get offers.
“I feel blessed and honored, but I still have to do my part. Getting better each week, month and year,” he said. “Coach Richardson has always told me that I would be a guy that they’d consider as long as i put my body in position to play there. And I feel like my style fits them. I am athletic. I am fast for a tight end. I can catch.”
On top of his trip to Clemson, Steele also made spring stops at Tennessee, LSU, Florida, Alabama and Auburn.
While he’s still early in the process, Steele already knows Clemson will be one of his top schools. He just needs the offer to make it official.
“It would clear a lot of things up,” Steele said. “Before the whole recruiting process, I probably didn’t think I would ever leave the state of Alabama. But since going to Clemson, it has definitely been a place that I have talked to my family about. It has been a place that I feel like I can go play. I haven’t decided on what school I am going to, but it would definitely be at the top.”
Photo courtesy of Lee Steele on X (formerly known as Twitter)