Julian Armella is a future five-star offensive tackle from powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Just a rising sophomore, the 6-foot-6, 290-pounder in the class of 2022 has already collected close to two dozen major scholarship offers.
The Clemson Insider recently caught up with Armella, who is keeping his recruitment wide open in the early going and claims no favorites right now.
“At this time not really,” he said. “I’m just keeping my recruitment open so that no matter what happens, junior or senior year I’ll be able to make my decision for one school and not just keep all these other schools guessing.”
Dispensing offers to underclassmen prospects is not Clemson’s mode of operation, so the Tigers have not yet offered Armella. However, they are showing interest in the Sunshine State standout, and he wants to visit campus for the first time — perhaps as soon as this season.
“I would have to talk to my coaches and try to plan something out, but yeah, that’s something that I would see myself doing for sure,” he said.
According to Armella, he is looking to experience “the whole family environment” at Clemson, “just see how the coaches are, the fans, the players and how they interact with people.”
“I know they’re a top-tier program,” he said. “Everything about them is just always on top no matter what. They’re the defending national champions, so that would be crazy if I got an offer from there or went there. They have an amazing program. A lot of athletes go to the NFL, so that would be an advantage.”
Among the schools that have offered him to date, Armella cited Miami and FSU as a couple showing the most interest early on. He also lists offers from Florida, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina and several others.
As he goes through the recruiting process, Armella is looking closely at a few key factors that will help decide his college choice.
“Wherever I go I’m trying to win, because that’s always been my mentality,” he said. “Wherever I go I really want to win, so that’d be a blessing if I went to Clemson. I also want to have an environment, I want to have good people there, connections – because that’s what college is about, making connections — and also just a place that feels like home.”
What kind of player will the school that lands Armella’s commitment be getting?
“What I feel like they would get would be just a dog that’s ready to compete no matter what,” he said. “You can put me at guard, center, tackle – I’ll just go wherever they tell me to. I’m a very coachable person, so whatever you tell me to do, I’m going to do it. I’ll be there on time. I’m never late. I don’t give attitude. I’m just an overall well-rounded, good student-athlete.”