Clemson back among Virginia Beach prospect’s favorites

Defensive end Jordan Williams of Virginia Beach attended Clemson’s junior day in February and was believed to hold the Tigers in high regard. That’s why it was a bit of surprise in the recruiting world when his short list last month did not include Clemson.

But the Tigers’ recruiter Brent Venables continued to talk to Williams, and what he told him worked because Williams (6-5, 260) recently updated his favorites’ list. This time, Clemson was included.

“There were quite a few questions that my family and I had about Clemson and one was we pulled up a roster and saw that they had a whole bunch of defensive ends,” Williams said. “That left me feeling maybe not great about them because every other program I have doesn’t have a bunch of defensive ends like they had. That really was the only thing that didn’t sit well with me and my family.

“Other than that, Coach Venables, Coach Swinney and Coach Hobby have built a great relationship with me. They’re great people,” he said. “After they weren’t on the list Coach Venables was DM’ing me on Twitter, we had a phone call for about a good hour and he was just explaining to me how they didn’t have that many D-ends. He had no idea what roster I pulled up, but he was just breaking down the depth chart of everybody they have and the need that they do have for defensive ends.”

Williams said he now has a better understanding of Clemson’s personnel at defensive end and that’s why the Tigers are back in contention. And it also helps there caught that they just put two more defensive ends into the NFL.

“It definitely does have a huge impact on me for sure because I know that I’m going to be taught things by Coach Hobby and the other defensive line coaches that’s good enough to get me to the first round,” Williams said. “I think Coach Hobby and Coach Venables are definitely going to be able to set me up and put me in a scheme that’s going to definitely have me be successful and teach me new things and help me get to the NFL like these guys have.”

Williams’ favorite list consists of Clemson, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Florida, Penn State, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Southern Cal, Notre Dame and Virginia. He said he actually has a shorter list of six or seven in mind, but he’s keeping that in-house for now because it’s not final.

Venables was by the school last week and coaches from Notre Dame, Michigan, State, NC State, Alabama, Duke, Richmond, Virginia and Virginia Tech also have been through. He does not plan to start taking trips again until the summer and he said Clemson will get another visit from him. He does not have a favorite.

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Clemson back among Virginia Beach prospect’s favorites."