Clemson Snags Prized 4-Star Kansas DE Xavier Kelly away from Top Programs
Written by Ryan Wright
What was for a time a silent commitment for 4-star defensive end Xavier Kelly became national recruiting news on Friday when the Kansas native pledged to play college ball for Clemson.
On July 22, Kelly posted his Top 8 naming Alabama, Florida State, Clemson, Michigan, Georgia, Kansas State, Oregon, and TCU in the running cutting out over 20 other Division-I suitors in the process. The final decision was not a carefree choice after Kelly took unofficial visits to Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Florida, and Miami among others. One of his first visits in the offseason, one to Clemson on May 31, sealed the deal.
Kelly was an “ace” for East High School in 2014. The Wichita area team finished with a 4-6 record but the down year did not stop college coaches from checking out the now 6’5”, 255 pound, end. Kelly used a mix of raw athleticism, speed, and power to dominate the line of scrimmage primarily coming off the line as a right-side defensive end. For his efforts he was name to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a member of the West squad.
Clemson is slowly piecing together what could be a Top 15 or better kind of recruiting class. Of the 12 verbal commitments siding with the Tigers, six have a 4-star ranking and two, linebacker Rahshaun Smith (IMG Academy) and running back Tavien Feaster (Spartanburg HS) are considered 5-star recruits.
Clemson 2016 Verbal Commitment List
LB Tre Lamar 6’3”, 240 lbs, Roswell HS, Roswell, GA
LB Jamie Skalski, 6’0”, 230 lbs, Northgate HS, Newman, GA
LB Rahshaun Smith, 6’2”, 235 lbs, IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL
DE Xavier Kelly, 6’4”, 255 lbs, Wichita East HS, Wichita, KS
CB Brian Dawkins Jr., Fork Union Military Academy, Fork Union, VA
QB Zerrick Cooper, 6’4”, 205 lbs, Jonesboro HS, Jonesboro, GA
RB Tavien Feaster, 6’0”, 200 lbs, Spartanburg HS, Spartanburg, SC
OT Sean Pollard, 6’5”, 290 lbs, Pinecrest HS, Southern Pines, NC
OT Chandler Reeves, 6’6”, 255 lbs, Eagle’s Landing, McDonough, GA
TE J.C. Chalk, 6’4”, 220 lbs, Argyle HS, Argyle, TX
WR Tavares Chase, 6’2”, 180 lbs, IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL
WR Cornell Powell, 6’1”, 180 lbs, J.H. Rose HS, Greenville, NC
Photo credit: rivals.com; Xavier Kelly performs at a Rivals camp.