Clemson Showing Early Interest in 2023 DE Tomarrion Parker
Over the past few weeks, the recruitment of Tomarrion Parker has started to really heat up.
While the official offers haven't started pouring in just yet, the 2023 defensive end out of Alabama is already becoming a hot commodity, something he said his coaches at Central High have him well prepared for.
"My coaches told me I'd blow up eventually," Parker told All Clemson. "When it kind of exploded, all the calls kind of came in at once, but I'm managing it now, it's getting back to normal, but everyday it's something new."
Early projections say Parker could possibly be a Top-150 player in the next recruiting cycle so it should come as no surprise that the Clemson coaching staff is already showing interest in the player from the same high school in Phenix City that produced current Clemson standouts Justyn Ross and E.J. Williams.
"They call me as much as they can through my coaches," Parker said. "They can't initiate towards me cuz I'm 2023 but, you know, I'm working constantly on building those relationships."
To date, Parker has close to a dozen offers including Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida State and Texas A&M. The future SI All-American candidate is planning an unofficial visit to Clemson in June and is hopeful an offer from the Tigers is on the horizon.
"I've been talking with Coach (Lemanski) Hall for like four months or five months," Parker said. "We've been building a good relationship. We talk frequently, like every two weeks or so, and whenever I can show them my workout videos."
On top of his unofficial visit this summer, the highly touted edge rusher said with the NCAA-mandated dead period now set to expire at the end of May, the Tigers will also be one of his top priorities when it comes to taking his official visits.
"They will get an official visit," Parker said. "Whenever I take visits, that will likely be my first."
On top of coming from the same high school as Ross and Williams, Parker also has a connection to the Clemson program through his father, who is a longtime fan of the Tigers. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound edge rusher said that he is still in the process of learning about the program from his dad, but what he's learned so far has him eager to know more.
"I'm kind of still learning, but I know what he's told me and what Coach Hall has told me," Parker said. "I'm wanting to learn even more."
Parker realizes there is still a long way to go regarding his recruitment, however, he does have an idea of when he would like to have a final decision made.
"To be honest, I'll know whenever the time comes," Parker said. "But I'm setting a goal to have my decision around December. I'm trying to commit, you know, then focus on my senior season."
There is one thing Parker said he does know for certain at this point, though, and that is the qualities he is looking for in a school. To him, it's all about the relationships, on and off the field.
"There's going to be good coaches everywhere," Parker said. "But I want a good coaching staff to build relationships with outside of football; connections. Football's not gonna always be there for everybody. I wanna do it as a family, you know, whoever wants me to be there and not just tolerate me."
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