Hanahan (S.C.) two-way prospect Cooper Dawson told TCI late last month that he was mulling whether to attend Clemson’s All In Cookout this Friday, July 27, or instead make a Northeastern swing of school visits in late July.

On Wednesday, Dawson (6-5, 250) confirmed that he has decided to attend the cookout. He will be accompanied by his parents.

“My family persuaded me to hold off the Northeast visits until during the season when I can get an official (visit) in, so I’ll be there Friday,” Dawson told TCI.

Dawson also visited Clemson for the Dabo Swinney Camp in June, though this visit will afford him the opportunity for more personal interaction with Clemson’s coaching staff, current players and other prospects.

He is looking forward to having fun at the cookout as well as the bonding time with offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell and area recruiter Tony Elliott.

“I heard there’s a home run derby, so I’m pretty excited about that,” he said. “And then just talking to Coach Caldwell and Coach Elliott… They could potentially be my future coaches, so just building a relationship there with them.”

Dawson, who grew up a Clemson fan, received his dream offer from Clemson last month following his visit for the Swinney Camp.

Both Elliott and Caldwell have been keeping in touch with Dawson, who is being recruited by the Tigers as an offensive tackle.

“Right now I’m talking with Coach Elliott more than Coach Caldwell, which is cool,” he said. “He’s my recruiting area coach, and he seems like a very good guy. He’s given me some positive advice going into the rehab and everything. So, he’s really been there for me and helped me out a lot.”

Dawson suffered an ACL tear at the Swinney Camp and is expected to miss most of his upcoming senior season. However, he is ahead of schedule in the rehab process and there’s a chance he could still see the field this fall.

“I’ll be four weeks this Friday away from my surgery, and they think I’ll be back for playoffs this year,” he said.

Dawson plans to take official visits during the season before making his college decision, which potentially might not come until December. He said Clemson will definitely get one of his officials.

“I don’t think my family would let me be considered a Dawson if I didn’t take one of them to Clemson,” he joked.

Dawson currently doesn’t have an official group of favorites, but named some schools that are standing out at this point in his recruiting process.

“If I had a top five, Clemson’s going to be in it,” he said. “Central Florida. I like Princeton, Army, Navy. Those are a good group of schools that I’m looking into right now.”

The majority of Dawson’s scholarship offers are for defensive end, while Clemson is among a few schools that have offered him as an offensive tackle.

Aside from picking a school, the biggest decision for Dawson will be choosing which of those positions to play at the next level.

“If I had to decide it’d definitely be defensive end, 100 percent,” he said of his positional preference. “But the league is the dream… Coaches have told me that I could be playing in the league (NFL) if I wanted to stay on the offensive side.”

Dawson, whose father played football at Georgia Southern, is ranked as high as the No. 5 prospect in South Carolina for the 2019 class by 247Sports.

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