By Hale McGranahan.
During a Wednesday morning ceremony at Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina, four-star wide receiver Cornell Powell committed to Clemson.
Powell joins fellow four-star T.J. Chase as the second wide receiver to commit to Clemson’s 2016 class.
As a junior, Powell caught 67 passes for 1,248 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns and accumulated 445 kickoff return yards.
For his high school career, Powell has 138 receptions for 2,744 yards and 43 touchdowns. He’s completed 44 of 99 passes for 778 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions. On the ground, Powell has rushed for 579 yards and eight touchdowns.
“When he got to Rose, he had a very good skill set as a receiver already, he caught the ball well,” Rose head coach David Wojtecki told TheClemsonInsider.
“But he really worked on his release skills off the line of scrimmage, high-pointing the ball while it’s in the air and he’s really done a great job of getting in the weight room and getting stronger in the classroom.
“He’s a very strong kid. With contact and all that, he still manages to have great body control, jump and get the ball at its highest point. A lot of schools like that. That’s a main reason why they’re drawn to him as a football player.”
Wojtecki commended the Clemson staff on their ability to attract some of the nation’s top high school talent.
“I know Clemson does a great job in recruiting. The coaches that come to the school, they do a great job. It’s a very classy organization that Clemson runs,” Wojtecki said. “They’re very likeable guys, the coaching staff is down there. I think Cornell really gets along with all of the coaches that he has visited with or have come to.
“We made an appearance down there for a game last year, and he really liked the school. They did a great job of showing us the academic side of Clemson. We really enjoyed the tutoring procedures that they go through with the football team and think he would do very well, academically, at a school like that.
“We really enjoy everything about Clemson recruiting this area for our players.”