Clemson coaches to visit Scott Pagano next week

Pagano has 43 tackles, eight sacks and three forced fumbles this season

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Tue Oct 02 22:09:38 GMT-04:00 2012

Scott Pagano Scott Pagano
Defensive Tackle
6-4, 280
Honolulu, HI
View Full Profile ’s high school sits approximately 5000 miles from the Clemson campus.

As you can imagine, it isn’t easy for the Clemson defensive tackle commit to make it off the islands and take official visits during football season – air travel to and from the island to the upstate of South Carolina would take almost an entire day – and Pagano doesn’t want to miss any of his high school football games.

As a result, Clemson coaches Dan BrooksDan Brooks
Assistant Coach / Defensive Line
View Full Profile and Brent VenablesBrent Venables
Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
View Full Profile are going to take a little bit of Clemson to Pagano during Clemson’s bye week next week.

Pagano, the 4-star defensive tackle out of Honolulu (HI) Moanalua, will be visited by Brooks and Venables next week during the bye week, and the two coaches will stick around long enough to watch Pagano play.

TigerNet spoke with Pagano Tuesday evening, and he said that he hears from the Clemson coaches two or three times a week via social media or telephone, and is excited about them coming to watch him play.

“I probably hear from Coach Brooks two or three times a week, and Coach Venables a lot on Facebook and they call me or I call them,” Pagano told TigerNet. “They just ask me how my season is going, how’s school, how’s my family, and they just can’t wait for me to come out there and see them. They are coming out here October 14th to watch a game. That will be pretty cool.”

Living in Hawaii, it’s hard for Pagano to take any official visits during football season, but he said he plans to take his one and only official visit to Clemson in January

“It’s kinda tough for me [to take official visits] because I’m so far away from everything,” Pagano said. “It’s kinda hard to get to games, but I’m going to take an official visit to Clemson in January. I’m only going to Clemson.”

Pagano said that during the offseason he worked to improve his pass rush and his making his footwork quicker, something he hopes the Clemson coaches notice.

“I think have gotten better at getting a better a pass rush from going to camps in Texas and Atlanta,” Pagano said. “I thought my pass rush got better. Also,my footwork got quicker. That’s the main things that I wanted to work on going into this season and it’s showing.”

His work in the offseason is evident as he is wreaking havoc on defense, forcing turnovers and blocking extra points on special teams.

“We are doing pretty good,” Pagano said. “We’re 4-1 in conference. We have a game this week against the number one team in the state. My season is going pretty good so far. I have eight sacks, 43 tackles, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two blocked PATs.”

Even though there is a six hour time difference between Hawaii and Clemson, Pagano has been able to watch three of Clemson’s games, and he thinks the defensive line will be much improved by season’s end.

“I got to watch the Auburn game, Boston College and some of the Florida State game,” Pagano said. “They’re [the defensive line] not bad. They are just really young, but they are getting better and better every game as they go on. They’ll be great towards the end because they will finally get the hang of it as they progress and as the season goes on.”

The 6’4, 275-pound Pagano thinks that he and the nation’s top recruit - Robert Nkmediche - can have an immediate impact on Clemson’s defense.

“I hope so, because everyone is talking about me,” Pagano said. “I hope I can. Me and Robert can make a big impact at end or inside. I’m about 275 [pounds] right now, and hopefully when I go up there I’ll be 295, 298 or even 300 pounds.”

When Pagano enrolls at Clemson in the summer, his mom and sisters will be just a short drive away in Greenville as they are moving to the upstate to be closer to family.

“My dad [who is in the military] has to stay here one more year,” Pagano said. “My mom and sisters are moving in July to Greenville so they can watch my games as well. I already have family in South Carolina. They can all come watch my games.”