CLEMSON- Jaylan Beckley's first visit to the state of South Carolina was a trip worth making.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman's first foray into the state included a stop in Clemson for Dabo Swinney's high school camp on Saturday. Beckley (Trinity Christian) made the trip from his home in Addison, Texas, and the visit made a notable impression.
"It's a beautiful campus," Beckley told All Clemson Tigers. "The foundation of faith in Christ is a pretty consistent theme throughout the entire staff, and that stands out a lot to me. I love that coach Swinney really places a lot of value on the character of the men and women on his staff, and he expresses a lot of pride in making sure that they 'keep the main thing, the main thing.'
Beckley also made an impression on the Clemson coaching staff.
"They said that basically, I check all of their boxes," he said. "I feel like my values and character align a lot with the program's. Besides the spiritual, academic, and personality aspects, I'm glad that I got to work out during camp this weekend so that I could really show off my athleticism and coachability as well."
In fact, Beckley knocked it out of the park with his workout, leaving town with one of the coveted Clemson offers.
"The fact that Clemson is known to be so selective with who they offer, means so much to me," Beckley said. "I'm humbled and extremely grateful to be one of the few guys in the whole country that they can see being a Clemson Tiger."
Beckley also came away with a better understanding of offensive line coach Thomas Austin, both on and off the field.
"Coach Austin is a very family-oriented man, which I can really appreciate," he said. "He's just easy to be around. I got to have some really good conversations with him during my time on campus, and I think he's an awesome guy. As a coach, he is patient and super knowledgeable. He seems to be very invested and committed to his players. That's huge to me."
Beckley already has more than half a dozen offers. He plans to camp next at Duke then head off to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Beyond that, he's not sure what his schedule may look like.
His recruitment is really just getting started, though. After picking up offers from Clemson, Georgia and LSU in the past week, others are bound to start taking notice.
For now, Beckley is planning to just enjoy the process. He would like to have a decision made by next summer, but that isn't a concrete timeline. When the time is right, he will know it, and only then will he have a decision.
"Ideally, I would like to make my decision by the end of my junior year or midway through the summer leading into my senior year," Beckley said. "However, I'm going to be patient in this process, and am not setting a deadline just yet. I plan to spend my time really building relationships with the schools that are recruiting me. Most importantly, I'll be talking with my family a lot and together we'll seek God, and just allow Him to guide my path."
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