Kicker commits to Tigers after ‘unbelievable weekend at Clemson’

Clemson on Monday gained its first public commitment from this past weekend’s Elite Retreat when kicker Robert Gunn III of Largo, Florida announced he will join the Tigers next year.

Gunn (6-2, 155) had kicked for the Tigers in a recent camp and returned to the campus this past weekend for further conversations with Dabo Swinney and the coaching staff.

“What an unbelievable weekend at Clemson,” Gunn said. “From the coaching staff to the facilities and most importantly the culture, it was a first-class experience all around. Everyone at Clemson really made me feel like family, and it felt like home from the start.”

Gunn is ranked among the top three kickers in the 2022 class by Kicking World. Last season he connected on eight of nine field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards, and he was good on 32 of 35 extra points. He also averaged nearly 45 yards per punt.

“Having the opportunity to play for Coach Swinney, Coach (Bill) Spiers and the Tiger family will not only help me reach my full potential on and off the field, and guide and mentor me along my spiritual walk with God,” he said. “All these years of training hard, making sacrifices, trusting the process, and putting my all into kicking has finally helped me realize my childhood dream of playing football at the next level.”

Kicking World had this review of Gunn from a workout earlier in June:

“He hit several kickoffs over 80 yards with 4.2-4.4 second hang times and drilled multiple field goals over 60 yards at his first two college camps completed and during our training the week prior. The kid is the real deal.”

Gunn also was offered recently by Texas. He also had offers from FAU, Army, Navy and Air Force. He’s the fifth public commitment for Clemson’s 2022 class.

Clemson also offered punter Jackson Smith (6-5 230) of Saraland, Alabama. He’s ranked the No. 1 punter nationally in his class.

Virginia receiver lands Clemson offer

One of the top performers at Clemson’s camps last week was wide receiver Andre Green Jr. (6-3, 180) of Richmond, Virginia. The heavily recruited Greene came into the camp without a Clemson offer, but it didn’t take long for Dabo Swinney and receivers coach Tyler Grisham to remedy that.

Before Greene left campus for an official visit at Georgia, Swinney let him know he wanted him to be a part of his high-powered receiving corps of the future.

“I was really excited to get the Clemson offer,” Greene said. “Like many others, it was one of my dream schools growing up. It does mean a lot knowing they are very selective in who they offer and the few wide receivers they have offered. Clemson has the total package in facilities, academics, etc. But many schools have great facilities, etc. I was more impressed with the people and consistent message from everyone. Everyone is definitely on the same page and that’s important.”

Greene said he and Grisham have developed a strong relationship during the recruiting process, and that’s a major reason he’ll give Clemson plenty of consideration now that he has the offer.

Greene has had a top 15 of Tennessee, Florida State, Penn State, Georgia, Michigan, LSU, Virginia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Miami, Florida, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and North Carolina. Clemson wasn’t on the list because there was no offer. That, of course, has changed now, and the Tigers will be a factor moving forward.

“After my visits my family and I will sit down to discuss them all,” he said. “Clemson wasn’t in my top 15 initially because I didn’t have an offer. But I would definitely say I was impressed and it was a very good visit.”

Greene is a four-star prospect and is ranked the No. 22 receiver nationally in the 247Sports Composite. In only three games this spring, Greene caught 12 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns.