Clemson locks in highly-rated linebacker, former North Carolina commit
Clemson added another majestic piece to it’s 2020 recruiting class Saturday with a commitment from linebacker Trenton Simpson (6-foot-2, 205 pounds).
In typical Clemson fashion, the Tigers lowkeyed their recruiting of Simpson for much of the season, then they turned up their interest in recent days. Simpson appeared headed to North Carolina, but then he showed up for an official visit at Clemson Friday, landed an offer Saturday and later committed.
“That wasn’t my expectation but I was figuring that they were going to offer me a scholarship because I had my home visit Thursday night,” Simpson said. “My personality and how my family is, it fits the program. They just told me to trust them. This has been my dream school since day one, so I just knew when he told me to trust them. It came down to my home visit and then I had my official visit the next day, I just prayed and let everything take care of itself. I just knew that it would work out for me in a good way.”
He is one of the top-rated linebackers in the country and was recently was named the player of the year in North Carolina.
Simpson and his parents were watching the Tigers practice Saturday when Dabo Swinney called him over for a chat. That’s when the official offer was made to him, and he gave Swinney his commitment right then and there.
“I didn’t waste any time,” he said. “Coach Swinney said, ‘I know you have a lot of options and I don’t know if you’re going to come here, but we would love to have you.’ I said, ‘Coach, I’m coming.’ He was very excited. The players were walking off the practice field and everybody was telling me that they were proud of me and that I just trusted the process and that’s how it’s supposed to be done.”
Simpson said he will sign with the Tigers next week and will arrive on campus January 5th.
“I’m just looking forward to getting to work. It’s a great feeling. I know my talents and I know what they have,” Simpson said. “I love to come work and I’ll have the same mindset as a lot of the guys coming in because I know everyone is the same caliber as me and wants the same goals that I have. It’s a great feeling knowing that I’ll be playing with some awesome teammates and great people.”
Simpson visited Clemson for the spring game and returned in October. He also had offers from USC, North Carolina, Penn State, West Virginia, Miami, Auburn, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia Tech and others. He originally was committed to Auburn and decommitted in October.
Simpson played both ways for a Mallard Creek team that went 10-1-1. He anchored a defense that allowed 12 points per game. He also ran for 371 yards and six touchdowns.
Simpson is the 22nd commitment for Clemson’s 2020 class.
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 6:38 PM.
