Inside Recruiting: A Look At Clemson's Junior Day Visitors
The Clemson Tigers hosted a handful of talented recruiting prospects from the 2021 and 2022 classes over the weekend. Here's a breakdown of the players who attended the event:
Class of 2021 Visitors
De'Shawn Rucker (Amos P. Godby HS, Tallahassee, Fla.)
Rucker (5-foot-11, 170 pounds), is a safety from Tallahassee, Florida. He's currently not ranked on 247Sports Composite but holds offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, and Indiana. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Florida State and Tennessee.
Rucker’s film shows a guy who likes to play center field and keep the deep pass in front of him. He makes quick decisions on the ball and that skill is able to help him get a jump on an interception or close down a run to the outside. He is a solid tackler and is familiar with playing on special teams as a punt returner and punt blocker for his team.
Will Fowler (Spartanburg HS, Spartanburg)
Fowler (6-0, 175), a kicker, is currently not ranked on 247Sports Composite, but he holds offers from Army, Clemson, and South Carolina. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson and North Carolina.
Fowler is responsible for kickoffs and has consistently recorded distances of 73-yards plus and hang-times of over 4-seconds. He regularly kicks the ball into the end zone for a touchback from the 40-yard line in high school.
Nolan Rucci (Warwick HS, Lititz, Pennsylvania)
Rucci (6-8, 266) is an offensive tackle with an amazing physical advantage over his competition. The five-star prospect is ranked as the 14th best player and the third best offensive tackle in the nation, per 247Sports Composite. He has offers from Clemson, Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Alabama. He has taken unofficial visits to Penn State, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Villanova. He has taken seven total unofficial visits to Penn State over the last three years.
Rucci is easily the biggest guy on the field on Friday nights. As with many elite offensive linemen, he also plays both sides of the ball as a defensive end. However, the top schools are exclusively looking at him for an offensive tackle. He is familiar with playing on both the left and right sides of the line as well as blocking for field goals on special teams. He is used as the lead blocker in the majority of run plays and has the quickness for counter and misdirection plays.
Dakota Mitchell (Winter Park HS, Winter Park, Fla.)
Mitchell (5-11, 170), a safety, is not ranked on the 247Sports Composite but has offers from Florida, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, and Clemson. He has named his top six, in no order, as Florida, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, and Miami. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Florida, and LSU.
Mitchell is a versatile athlete with good hands who has seen playing time at wide receiver and safety. He's a hard hitter who isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder and knock a person back. He has been used as a pass-catching running back as well. Mitchell can beat you deep on offense but also uses that skill on defense to keep the ball in front of him. He is not afraid to get close to the line of scrimmage and stop the run.
Jordan Hancock (North Gwinnett HS, Suwanee, Ga.)
Hancock (6-0, 170), a four-star cornerback, is the 82nd overall player and sixth cornerback in the nation, per 247 Composite rankings. He has offers from Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Appalachian State. He has an official visit scheduled to Ohio State for June. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa.
Hancock is a physical outside cornerback with good footwork and hands. He is able to make quick decisions against the pass and has the ability to time routes effectively. He is someone who likes to play close to the receiver and use his hands as well as play in tight man-coverage situations.
Barrett Carter (North Gwinnett, HS, Suwanee, Ga.)
Carter (6-1, 210), a four-star outside linebacker, is the 54th overall player and the 4th ranked outside linebacker in the nation per 247Sports Composite rankings. He has offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Clemson, and Colorado. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Florida State, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Duke.
Carter looks like a college player on the field already and is a very talented tackler. He has good footwork and is fast enough to also play running back for North Gwinnett. He is very comfortable covering running backs out in space as well as crashing hard toward the inside handoff. His film shows multiple plays where he has to make big jumps to defend the pass successfully.
Troy Stellato (Cardinal Gibbons HS, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Stellato (6-0, 172), a four-star wide receiver, is the 141st overall player and the 25th ranked wide receiver. He has offers from Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, Arkansas, and Auburn. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, and Kentucky.
Stellato is a very fast slot receiver who is not afraid to cross the middle of the field and is always looking for ways to make big plays in the defense. He has the ability to quickly turn his hips and get upfield before linebackers can catch him. He prefers to sprint toward the sideline then cut up the field on a majority of his crossing routes. He is someone you can trust to bring down the ball in one on one or two on one situations. He is also familiar with wide receiver screenplays and lining up in multiple spread style formations.
Ryan Barnes (Quince Orchard HS, Gaithersburg, Maryland)
Barnes (6-2, 175) is a cornerback from Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is currently ranked as a three-star prospect, 546th overall, and the 42nd ranked cornerback per 246Sports Composite. He has offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Buffalo, Clemson, and Duke. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Georgia, Duke, and Maryland.
Barnes has the right height to develop into the type of defender that Brent Venables prefers. He likes to play very close to the line of scrimmage and likes to play aggressively. He has a high motor and can be seen running all over the field to get in on the play. Good reaction speed and ability to adjust when needed.
Class of 2022 Visitors
TJ Dudley (Montgomery Catholic Preparatory, Montgomery, Alabama)
Dudley (6-2, 195) is an outside linebacker who isn't ranked on 247Sports Composite but has offers from Auburn, Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech, and Houston. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Auburn, and Georgia Tech.
The speedy Dudley has a ton of film against the run. He hits hard and wraps up well when he tackles. He works to shed blocks quickly and get to the outside to stop the run.
Jalon Walker (Salisbury HS, Salisbury, N.C.)
Walker (6-3, 185) is an outside linebacker not ranked on 247Sports Composite, but he has offers from Duke, Kentucky, NC State, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, NC State and North Carolina since February.
He is still early in his recruiting process and there is currently very limited public film available on him. We expect to see more posts from him following his 2020 junior season.