Clemson’s ‘no-visit’ rule for commits is unique. Here’s how the Tigers make it work
The top high school football player in the country — Korey Foreman — made national headlines earlier this month when he decommitted from Clemson, becoming the first Tigers commit to decommit since 2015.
Foreman cited Clemson’s policy on committed players being unable to take visits as the reason for his decision.
It’s a rule that is unique to Clemson in college football, according to 247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong.
“They’re really the only school that can have it with the success that they’ve had on the field. It gives you a little more muscle on the recruiting trail,” Wiltfong said. “If you’re a middle-of-the-road Power 5 program, chances are a no-visit policy isn’t going to be strong for you. ... But I don’t think this is an indictment on Clemson and the way they do things.”
Clemson has arguably the top program in college football right now — it’s certainly in the top 2 along with Alabama. The Tigers have won two of the past four national championships and have reached the College Football Playoff five consecutive years.
There are perks that come with having that kind of success, according to Denmak High (Georgia) coach Mike Palmieri. The former head coach at Mallard Creek High in Charlotte, Palmieri spent 13 seasons as the head coach at Mallard Creek and regularly had players being recruited by major college football programs.
Some of the recent high-profile players Palmieri had signed to Power 5 schools include Jordan Davis (Georgia, 2018), T.J. Moore (Florida, 2017), Ryan Jones (Oklahoma, 2017) and Trent Simpson (Clemson, 2020).
“The top schools, the Alabamas, the Clemsons, they’ve got five-star after five-star wanting to get in. It’s not like you’re holding off on a three-star or something like that. They’ve got a great list of kids that want to go to their school,” Palmieri said. “I would make sure I made (the rule) clear to the kid when he committed. If you’re telling him, ‘This is our policy and make sure you make all of your visits before you commit,’ I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
Palmieri added that he has never had any issues with Clemson’s staff, including this past season as the Tigers recruited Simpson.
Simpson was a five-star recruit that Clemson did not offer until less than a week before the early signing day last December. He still signed with the Tigers, despite not receiving an offer until late in the recruiting process.
“They were great. They were honest. They didn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s a business. They treated it like it. They respected Trent and were honest with him. They were honest with me and when it was time to offer they offered,” Palmieri said. “I’ve been dealing with them a long time. They’re fantastic, really professional.”
Dacari Collins, a four-star receiver commit for Clemson’s 2021 recruiting class, added that the rule is one that Clemson commits understand is in place.
You should not commit to Clemson unless you are certain that it is the school you want to attend and you have no desire to take other visits, according to Collins.
“They’re not trying to do it to make you feel down. It’s just that if this is what you want and you’re serious about it, this should be the only school you’re considering,” Collins said. “You shouldn’t be looking anywhere else. I’m not looking anywhere else. My recruitment is shut down. There’s not anything else out there for me.”
Collins added that it’s not as if Clemson tries to put pressure on you to make you commit and then holds you to an unfair rule.
“They try to make you not commit just to make sure that this is what you want,” he said. “That’s what I wanted, and I’m not going anywhere.”
