Recruiting | Freeman Clemson bound

By STEVE WISEMAN - swiseman@thestate.com

Pelion High’s colors are maroon and gold, but an historic day at the school was tinged in orange Wednesday.

Dalton Freeman became the first Pelion High player to sign with a Division I program when he put his signature on a National Letter of Intent to play at Clemson.

"There’s a lot of pride involved," said Pelion head coach Ben Freeman, Dalton’s father. "It’s a dream come true for me and Dalton and his mom (Gwen Freeman). It’s a great thing for our school having someone come out of this program and be a Division I player, having the grades and abilities to do it. It’s really a neat day for us."

Clemson started recruiting Dalton Freeman heavily when he was a sophomore and he lived up to that early notice over the past three seasons.

A 6-foot-6, 270-pound offensive guard, he played in the Shrine Bowl and made several all-state teams as a senior last fall when he played offense and defense for the Panthers. The S.C. Football Coaches Association named him its lineman of the year after he recorded 71 tackles, including five sacks during the regular season, on defense and graded out at 92 percent for the year and recorded 57 knockdown blocks on offense.

Rivals.com named him a four-star recruit and ranked him as the No. 13 offensive guard in the nation and the No. 9 overall player in South Carolina.

But for all those accolades, Dalton Freeman is just as proud about being No. 1 on the list of Division I players from his Class 2A school.

"I’m very excited," Dalton Freeman said. "This is a dream come true for me and my family and something I’ve been working hard for. To be the first Division I player to come out of this high school means a lot to me. To be part of this great recruiting class, I think it’s a sign of things to come."

He joins a Clemson recruiting class that features the bulk of the state’s top seniors. Dalton Freeman joins Rivals.com top-10 players DaQuan Bowers of Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Marquan Jones of Blythewood, Andre Ellington of Berkeley and Kenneth Page of A.C. Flora with the Tigers.

All are rated as four-star players except Bowers, who is a five-star performer.

"We’ve put together a phenomenal class. I’ve had a chance to play with a lot of them in the Shrine Bowl. They are great athletes. It really looks good for the future."

Wednesday was a big day for one of Dalton Freeman’s teammates as well. Erik Mobley, who played offense and defense along side him and made the North-South All-Star game, signed with Carson-Newman (Tenn.).

"Erik is a great football player and I think Carson-Newman got a steal in him," Ben Freeman said. "He’s a Division I-caliber player. Of course, he’s going to a great Division II program."

Reach Wiseman at (803) 771-8472