Shortly after Santana Harvey arrived at Clemson for his official visit he’d officially become a member of the Tigers’ current recruiting class.
The four-star edge (Lakeland, FL) entered the visit planning to see through all of his officials before making a decision in July. He still had other stops scheduled at Notre Dame, Florida State and Georgia Tech.
However, by Friday night, Harvey knew he’d seen enough, and he decided he was ready to shut things down.
“I have been to Clemson three or four times, and I felt like after this visit I have seen everything I need to see,” he told The Clemson Insider. “Clemson showed everything. I feel like it is the right fit, so I just went ahead and called it.”
But what makes Clemson the right fit? A big part of it is defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s vision for him in the scheme. The culture inside the program also factored in heavily.
“Just the defense and the way Coach Tom Allen sees me in the defense,” Harvey said. “I have a vision for myself and how I can develop at Clemson. Everything on and off the field, just building myself better as a man and as a player. I took all of that into account, thought about it, and said, ‘Yes, this is the spot for me.'”
Harvey informed defensive ends coach Chris Rumph in the lobby of the hotel he was staying at, then FaceTimed Dabo Swinney. The head coach quickly made his way over to the hotel to celebrate the occasion.
“I was in the hotel lobby with my mom and Coach Rumph, and Coach Swinney was still at the facility,” Harvey said. “We FaceTimed Coach Swinney, then he came to the hotel and I told him again. He was fired up. He was really happy.”
Numerous recruits made their way to campus this weekend, taking part some fun on the lake Friday before dinner later that evening. The group did a scavenger hunt across campus the next day, with Harvey noting that the receivers won. However, there was also a cook-off between the recruits on Saturday, with Harvey’s team taking home the prize.
“We won the cooking challenge,” Harvey added. “We did the cook-off on Saturday. We cooked some pasta in the Paw Bistro.”
Harvey is one of two defensive ends currently committed to the Tigers. The other player at the position, four-star Desmond Malpress was one of four players to announce verbal pledges on Monday. One more edge rusher is expected to be added, and Harvey feels like there is a lot of potential with the group of defensive ends.
“I feel like the future is bright for us,” Harvey said. “We could back to the top within a year or two of us getting there.”
Photo courtesy of Santana Harvey on Instagram