New Clemson Recruiting Coordinator Tyler Grisham Thinks Role 'Fits Him Well'
After two seasons as the receivers coach on Dabo Swinney's staff, Tyler Grisham has now added the role of recruiting coordinator at Clemson.
Grisham was a four-year letterman for the Tigers from 2005-08, finishing his career with 132 receptions for 1,390 yards and eight touchdowns. After stints in the NFL with the Steelers and Broncos, Grisham returned to Clemson as a graduate assistant in 2014, then went on to become a member of the support staff as an offensive analyst, before becoming the full-time receivers coach prior to the 2020 season.
Now that he's added recruiting coordinator to his list of responsibilities, and coaches are now being allowed to get back out on the road and recruit this spring, Grisham is looking to solidify what he considers already strong relationships with high school coaches.
"I think it fits me well, I enjoy recruiting, I really do," Grisham said. "This is my first spring ever to go on the road. I've never gone on the road and recruited in the spring because of Covid. So that'll be new and exciting, to meet my area coaches. I've been on the phone with my area coaches but I've never met hardly any of them in person."
And making sure all of the coaches are working the state of South Carolina will absolutely be a top priority.
"Making sure that they're hitting their areas," Grisham said. "Like South Carolina, we're gonna hit every school. We're not going to miss one school in South Carolina, okay. So making sure that everybody's hitting South Carolina at some point in the spring evaluation period."
However, don't expect any wholesale changes to the Tigers' recruiting philosophy. Clemson has become well-known for its meticulous process, which includes generally not offering players before they become high school juniors.
"It can be somewhat challenging," Grisham said. "But once the recruits understand our philosophy and that is explained to them, they can appreciate it. And again, high school coaches appreciate it."
While some on the outside looking in think that hurts the Tigers at times when it comes to recruiting, Grisham doesn't buy into that line of thinking. Like Swinney, Grisham maintains that it makes an offer from Clemson actually mean something tangible, and potential prospects know it.
"We can talk, we can have relationships, but man whenever we offer at Clemson, we're all in. Now we're, 'shoot let's go get this guy, let's land him.' And they feel that. You're not just another dude. They're special. It's special getting an offer from Clemson."
While there may be some tweaks here and there, Grisham isn't interested in fixing something that isn't broken. The Tigers have recruited at a very high level under Swinney, something Grisham has every intention of continuing in the future.
"Coach Swinney says 'hey, listen, blame me.' It's 'hey listen, I'd love to offer you, you're an offer guy. But we got to wait, we gotta wait a little bit. You know your time is coming.' Let's get a fourth-semester transcript, let's make sure you can drive, right. So that's what we do. And it's been successful for us."
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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