5-star impressed by visit from Swinney, Clemson
By: Gavin Oliver January 16, 2019

Clemson’s coaching staff hit the recruiting trail Tuesday with a lot of momentum following its national championship victory over Alabama last week.

A day after celebrating the win at the White House on Monday, head coach Dabo Swinney and two assistants traveled to check in on a five-star target from Woodbridge, Va.

Woodbridge High School 2020 linebacker Antoine Sampah drew a visit at his school from Swinney, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and area recruiter Todd Bates.

“It proved to me that I am a priority to the coaching staff at Clemson,” Sampah told The Clemson Insider. “Time is valuable and to make a way to Woodbridge after visiting the White House shows incredible effort on their behalf to keep a great relationship with Coach G (Woodbridge coach Gary Wortham Sr.) and check on my progress as a student and player.”

The Clemson coaches let Sampah’s coach know that they are very high on the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Sampah, who is regarded as one of the top prospects in the country.

“My coach let me know their conversation was about my growth as a person, student and player,” Sampah said. “From being a recruit that gained national attention early as a freshman to now going into my senior year, the coaches were impressed with the way I’ve handled the recruiting process and I must give that credit to my coach. Clemson has always expressed that they have a ton of respect for our high school program and the way we carry ourselves with class no matter if we’re in their presence or on social media.”

The Tigers extended a scholarship offer to Sampah back in March. He then visited Clemson to work out with Venables at the Swinney Camp in June before returning for the Louisville game in November.

Sampah is planning to be back in Tigertown soon.

“Right now I haven’t decided an exact date I’m going to visit but my coach let me know the possibilities today,” he said. “However I do know for sure I will be at the Clemson spring game no matter what day it is, that is a priority for me.”

Sampah is a consensus top-100 prospect nationally in the 2020 class according to the major recruiting services. He is ranked as high as the No. 1 inside linebacker and No. 10 overall prospect in the country by Rivals.

Besides Clemson, Sampah owns offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech among others.