Top instate prospect gets offer he wants, loves what Clemson is doing

Skinner says he will take his time with the recruiting process (Photo per his Twitter account).

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Tue Oct 13 15:01:03 GMT-04:00 2020

Greer (SC) tight end Jaleel Skinner received the offer he’s been waiting on Sunday evening when he called Clemson tight ends coach Danny Pearman.

The 4-star wide receiver/tight end thought the impromptu conversation would just be about life and football, but much to his surprise, he hung up the phone with an offer from the top-ranked Tigers, becoming the fourth Palmetto State offer for the 2022 class.

Skinner joins 4-star Mauldin cornerback Jeadyn Lukus, 3-star Myrtle Beach receiver Adam Randall and 4-star Greenville offensive tackle Collin Sadler as the only offers Clemson has made in South Carolina.

The 6-5, 215-pound prospect told TigerNet earlier this week that he was surprised and grateful for the news.

“Coach Pearman told me to call him the other day,” told TigerNet after receiving the offer. “I was shocked that he was offering me. I thought we were just going to talk football a little bit and we did, but I was really excited to get the offer. It means a lot to me because it's not too far from home. It's right down the road. I love what they're doing right now and how they're producing.”

Skinner said Clemson’s coaches see him filling a role similar to Braden Galloway, who is used at tight end and in the slot as a wide receiver.

“They see me as a flex tight end because I will play tight end and I will play wide receiver,” Skinner said. “At Greer right now, I play kind of a flex where I'm in the slot, I can go in motion. I can go from wide receiver to tight end or tight end to wide receiver.”

While Skinner talks mainly with Pearman, wide receiver coach Tyler Grisham is also in frequent contact.

“I talk to Coach Grisham some too. I'd say it's a pretty good relationship because he'll call and we'll talk about football and using me at wide receiver at Clemson,” he said.

With offers from South Carolina, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and others, recruiting is just beginning to get fun for Skinner.

“I get a lot of people telling me to go here or go there everywhere I go now. I love to hear that from people. It's a lot of fun,” he said.

With the NCAA still enforcing a recruiting dead period due to COVID-19, Skinner hasn’t been able to take any visits, something he looks forward to when some sense of normalcy returns.

“I want to keep building a relationship with these coaches and as soon as everything opens up, I want to get out and visit,” he said. “I don't really have any top teams right now. I'm just going to wait it out until I can get back and visit and then I'll drop my top schools. When it comes time to release a top group, Clemson will probably be there.”