BREAKING: OLB Clemons commits to Vols, says 'folks are sleeping on me'
Jalil Clemons picked up a Tennessee offer back in May, and after visiting Rocky Top for the first time Saturday, the freakish 3-star defensive end/outside linebacker decided that was all he needed to see to end his recruitment.
Clemons committed to the Vols on Sunday, becoming the 11th member of the 2019 class.
“Tennessee just fit me real well,” he said.
“The scheme. The school. The facilities. Coach (Jermey) Pruitt up there, he’s bringing the Alabama mindset down there. All the coaches have shown me love.”
Clemons hails from Starkville (Miss.), yet Tennessee remains his only Power 5 offer. While Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Auburn have all kept close tabs on the 6-foot-3, 245-pound prospect, the Vols have made him feel like a priority since extending an offer. After working out for the staff on Saturday, Clemons simply felt at home and decided to commit on the spot.
“They made me feel like family. They told me they wanted me. Need me. (Pruitt) told me I remind him of Ryan Anderson from Alabama,” Clemons said.
“That meant a lot coming from coach Pruitt. Coach Pruitt had a big smile on his face (when I told) him. He told me that makes him a happy man.”
Clemons holds a dozen offers and was among the top performers at various camps this spring. He his 103.14 SPARK score was the best of any Mississippi prospect at a regional Opening Camp, as Clemons possesses a blend of quickness (4.5 shuttle) and bend for a pass rusher. As a defensive end for Starkville in 2017, he recorded 11 sacks, 22 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. The Vols are recruiting Clemons as an outside linebacker, and the ’Sip native is excited about that transition moving forward.
“Ryan Anderson is one of my favorite players. To be compared to him, man, that means a lot. It gives me more motivation to be great,” Clemons said.
“They’re recruiting me to play outside linebacker and that’s kind of different for me so I have to learn it, but coach (Chris) Rumph, he stays hard on you and he’s not going to sugarcoat nothing. He’s going to coach you and I like his style. They don’t put no recruiting (speil) or nothing, they just recruit you naturally.”
Tennessee first discovered Clemons during the spring evaluation period and the new staff’s opinion of the future outside linebacker was confirmed during Saturday’s camp workout. It won’t be a surprise to see others come calling for the 3-star prospect, but Clemons said he’s glad to put the recruiting process behind him now.
“It excites me a lot to be a Vol,” he said.
“As coach Pruitt said, folks are sleeping on me. I can play. I’m a football player.”