Following a couple of dominant camp performances earlier this month, Oak Park (Mich.) four-star lineman Justin Rogers received an offer from Clemson on Tuesday.
“My coach told me I had the Clemson offer,” Rogers told The Clemson Insider. “One of the coaches talked to my head coach.
“When my coach told me about the Clemson offer, I’m like wow — this can’t be real.”
Rogers (6-3, 311) has collected more than 30 offers from all over the map and is widely regarded as one of the Midwest’s top prospects in the 2020 class, if not one of the best in the country.
But still, Clemson’s offer came as a surprise to him considering the Tigers’ selectivity with offers, especially when it comes to offering underclassmen prospects — something that is unique these days in the accelerated landscape of college football recruiting.
“I wasn’t really expecting to get Clemson because some guys were telling me they do their stuff way differently from other schools,” Rogers said. “They’re trying to stand out, and I like that about Clemson.”
Rogers recently earned MVP honors at both the Nike Opening Regional in Canton, Ohio, and the Rivals camp in Columbus.
He plays right tackle on offense and both defensive end and tackle for Oak Park, and says he could play on either side of the ball at the next level.
“Some schools, they have me as right tackle. Some have me as defense. Some schools see me as a D-end, the three-technique (D-tackle). It’s different stuff right now,” Rogers said. “It doesn’t really matter. I can play both sides of the ball.”
Rogers said he has communicated with Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell a couple of times.
“He was saying he doesn’t just offer kids, he offers kids that are really serious about Clemson and that are ready to come in and play instead of ride the bench,” Rogers said.
Rogers could visit Clemson for the first time as soon as next month.
“I might visit Clemson in June,” he said. “I’m going to be down there in that area because I’ve got family in Atlanta, Georgia, and Clemson’s like an hour away.
“I just want to see how their academics are. They’ve got a good football program. I’m just really trying to figure out the academics and stuff.”
Although just a sophomore, Rogers has an impressive offer list that includes schools such as Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Penn State, LSU, Florida, Florida State and Miami.
He still has a top two of Georgia and Ohio State, but said Clemson and a few other schools are in the favorites discussion.
“I’d say those are the top schools, but Clemson, they’re up there with Penn State, LSU, Alabama and Auburn,” he said.
Added Rogers of Clemson: “I feel like they prepare you as a man off the field and on the field, too. … I’m just really trying to build a relationship with the players and the coaches, get comfortable when I visit down there.”
Rogers is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 prospect in Michigan, No. 2 offensive guard nationally and No. 55 overall prospect for the 2020 class.