'Awesome' Visit Culminates In Clemson Offer For 2023 DT Jamaal Jarrett
Jamaal Jarrett's very first trip to Clemson turned out to be a memorable one.
The coaching staff had been trying to get the 2023 DT on campus this spring and before officially trimming his list down to a handful of favorites, Jarrett was intent on seeing what the school had to offer.
"It was awesome," Jarrett told All Clemson. "They've been trying to get me out there to do a visit for the longest. I'm dropping my top-five soon so I'm looking at places and I was able to get down there, and it was AWESOME. As soon as we pulled in, just seeing some of the stuff along with facilities is great. Students are active in the learning programs, walking around the classroom. It's pretty cool."
On top of being thoroughly impressed with the program, Jarrett came away with the coveted Clemson offer. And it came directly from head coach Dabo Swinney.
"Face to face, in his office," Jarrett said about getting the offer. "He was like he has 78 offers out right now and he's about to have 79. Then looked at me and shook my hand."
The highly-touted defensive lineman had an inkling that an offer was forthcoming once he got to campus, but he wasn't completely sure. He went in knowing that the Tigers routinely hand out far fewer offers than most every other Power-5 program, and in the end, the way Swinney went about offering really stood out.
"I felt like it was coming," Jarrett said. "But then again, I was still on the fence cuz Clemson recruits different from everybody else in the country. Just meeting coach Swinney, him opening his heart out to me, talking to me, and telling me about the program, and the history, it was pretty cool."
Knowing and going to the same high school as former Clemson standout and current Cincinnati Bengal, D.J. Reader, makes Jarrett feel like he could potentially have a unique connection with the program. Reader was originally a fourth-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in the 2016 NFL Draft.
"Just going to Grimsley, D.J. Reader went to Clemson and he's a big impact on my community and my school," Jarrett said. "Including Clemson would mean a lot to me and him, and the community of course. Just him being Clemson alumni. It was pretty cool to see going on the visit today and seeing a lot of stuff, seeing him in the Hall of Fame, stuff like that."
North Carolina, Georgia and Auburn are some of the other schools recruiting the 6-foot-5, 350-pound SI All-American candidate the hardest. LSU and Maryland have both recently offered, as well, giving Jarrett more than two dozen offers currently.
With the Clemson visit going so well, Jarrett, who grew up rooting for the Tarheels, already has plans on getting back to campus. He intends on taking an official visit in June and also wants to get back for a game in the fall.
Don't expect a decision anytime soon, though. Jarrett has every intention of being patient and letting the process play out.
"I don't want to do it before my senior season, and I don't want to do it during, because I'm gonna be focused on the season," Jarrett said. "Probably want to do it after the season."
When it does come time to make that ultimate decision, the new NIL rules that matter so much to some, won't have much of an impact on Jarrett. He believes that those opportunities will come, no matter where he chooses to attend school.
"It's not really a top priority for me," he said. "Athletes can make money on anything now, as far as their name, image. I'm not really focused on that. Different schools have different ways of going about NIL. I can make money off my name anywhere I go, so I'm not really focused on that."
What he is looking for is a strong culture. For Jarrett, it's all about the relationships, as well as a place that feels like home, and the academics. He's also looking for a stable coaching staff, and with Swinney having been in place since 2008, that is something that Clemson can absolutely provide.
"I'm looking for the relationships," Jarrett said. "Every school has something nice. Whether it's the campus, jerseys, sponsors, NIL. But I'm really just focused on the academic portion. The family feel, that home feel at the school. And just knowing whether the coaches are going to stay or not. All this transferring stuff, coaches moving from school to school, I just want to be able to know that my coach is gonna be there for the three, four, or five years that I'm gonna be there."
The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022. Only reigning national champ Georgia (+200), runner-up Alabama (+200) and Ohio State (+800) are ahead of Clemson at +1000.
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