Clemson Coaching Staff Was 'Blown Away' by Kobe McCloud's Film

Clemson's 2022 class includes multiple legacy recruits.

One of those players is LB Kobe McCloud, out of Tampa, Florida. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound player is the younger brother of former Clemson wide receiver Ray Ray McCloud and was a late addition to the class.

"Obviously, we've known the McCloud's forever, I've known Kobe forever," head coach Dabo Swinney said on signing day. "Just kind of chance that it all worked out the way it did."

Heading into the early signing period in December, the Tigers thought they were all but done at linebacker. However, after the shakeup of the coaching staff that led to four defensive players decommitting, including one linebacker, Clemson was suddenly in need of another player at the position.

“I had forgotten about Kobe because he was a guy that Brent (Venables) had evaluated early,” Swinney said during Clemson’s National Signing Day show. “But we had a kid committed already from Kansas and we had two other guys that we had offered, and we knew we were going to get one of those guys."

Fortunately for the Tigers, Swinney just happened to reach out to the family after watching older brother Ray Ray play for the Steelers late in the season, and surprisingly found out that the younger McCloud did not sign with FIU, the program he committed to last August. And in another twist of fate, former defensive coordinator Brent Venables had already evaluated McCloud's film, loving what he saw.

"Next thing you know, I'm watching the Steelers game and Ray Ray had a big game," Swinney said. "I just happen to text (Big) Ray (their father) and Ray Ray and they both hit me back and I just said 'Hey, where'd Kobe end up signing?' Just conversation and he said, 'Well, he actually decided not to sign.' Because they had a lot of things come their way and didn't really know what they wanted to do. So they were gonna take January to kind of figure it out."

"But Brent’s evaluation, I went back to his evaluation, and Brent’s evaluation was, ‘I love this kid, he is a great player. He’s got high-end potential. He’s a thumper, he’s got range, he’s fast, he’s explosive in his hips, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But probably won’t be able to offer because we’re going to get one of these two. But if not, he would be a guy for us.’ That was kind of the evaluation, and I had forgotten about that.”

When Swinney found out McCloud was still available, he watched the film again, just to be sure, then sent it over to Wes Goodwin. Clemson's new defensive coordinator just happened to have to same response as Venables.

"When he said he didn't sign I was like, I went back and watched this tape again," Swinney said. "And I sent it to Wes, and his response was exactly the same. He was blown away by him."

In the end, the Tigers got the linebacker they needed, with McCloud's patience in the process paying off in a big way for both sides.

"He's a really good player," Swinney said. "He's from a football family. His brothers in Arizona, Ray Ray's with the Steelers, and I mean, he's just a... he's a tough kid. He's a really, really good kid. Great family. So just kind of neat how that worked out."

Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!

Add us as a preferred source on Google