By Hale McGranahan.

Dallas-East Paulding (GA) sophomore offensive lineman Michael Cone was in Clemson on Saturday for the Orange and White game.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound prospect spoke with TheClemsonInsider earlier this week and discussed his first visit to Clemson.

“Academically, they’re a great school for that. They said they have an 81 percent graduation rate, so that really interested me,” he said. “Talking to coach (Robbie) Caldwell, the o-line coach, he says he saw my film.

“Since I’m in the class of 2017, he said he can’t talk to me right now. He said he’ll come see me in spring and that’s good, so he can actually see what I’m like. That’s one of the top things that really interested me in Clemson.”

There was plenty about the trip that impressed him.

“The town was amazing. I love small, local towns like that,” Cone said. “When we got to the campus, it surprised me. I wasn’t expecting that. I was expecting more buildings than anything else. It was more landscaping. It was more of a college I like. It was open grounds. You can go walking, play golf.

“The sports facilities, I really liked. The weight room, the locker rooms, all that, I loved. And the fans there are really supportive. The campus, the facilities and the town is just amazing to me.”

Along with his visit to Clemson, Cone’s been to Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama this spring. He’ll return to Tuscaloosa this weekend for the Alabama spring game.

During the summer camp circuit, Cone will visit Clemson, Auburn and Alabama.