Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and wide receiver prospect Ajou Ajou liked each other right from the moment they first met.
“When I first met him, I said, ‘I’m Dabo Dabo. Nice to meet you Ajou Ajou,’” Swinney recalled this week, smiling. “So, we hit it off right there. He was destined to be a Tiger. Dabo and Ajou.”
Ajou (6-4, 220) signed his letter of intent with the Tigers on Wednesday, becoming the first Clemson football signee from Canada.
“We’ve gone international,” Swinney said. “I’ve been waiting on that. We’ve got our first international signee.”
“I’m so excited about this guy,” Swinney continued. “He’s from Canada, and again, now we’ve kind of gotten an international flavor, if you will.”
A native of Brooks, Alberta, Ajou moved to Florida this past offseason to attend Clearwater Academy International in order to gain more exposure and garner attention from Division I football programs.
Ajou has played two years of high school football, one in Canada and one this year at Clearwater Academy for head coach Jesse Chinchar.
“He’s been in Canada his whole life, and he went down to play in Clearwater, Florida, and just absolutely amazing talent,” Swinney said. “Brooks, Alberta, is the actual province that he’s from. But he went down there to Clearwater Academy, and Coach Chinchar and his staff did a great job. They kind of got him there.”
Ajou Ajou at the Dabo Swinney Camp in June
Ajou was recruited to Clemson by Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott, and committed on July 27, 2019.
He came to the Swinney Football Camp last summer, his first trip to Clemson, and left with a scholarship offer from the Tigers even though he did not know how to properly line up as a wide receiver in American football.
“This guy – I kid you not – had never been in a stance,” Swinney said. “He’s played football his whole life. I watched his tape, and this guy’s playing in snow and he’s tough as they come. This is how he grew up, playing in the snow, playing Canadian football his whole life. Three downs, that’s how he’s played football – that’s what he knows. And then he comes to Florida and he has to go do spring practice in May. Well, then he comes to us in June to camp. Jeff and Tony went down there to see him, and they were like Coach, wait till you see him. And I said alright, I need to see him in camp.
“So, he comes to camp, and literally he did not really know how to come out of a stance because he’s always had a running start. His whole life, he’s had running starts. So, when I talk about a guy that we’re going to have a chance to really just kind of mold as a wideout guy, I am so excited about him.”
The raw but very athletic Ajou finished his first season in the U.S. with 39 receptions for 686 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 17.6 yards per reception. He showed his ability at midseason against American Collegiate Academy with 10 catches for 190 yards and three scores before adding five receptions for 115 yards and two more scores in his next game against Angels Christian Academy.
As a high school athlete in Edmonton, Ajou also played basketball and competed as a high jumper.
Ajou will join fellow receiver signee E.J. Williams on campus when he enrolls at Clemson in June.
“His leaping ability is off the charts. In fact, I think he’s got some kind of Canadian record for long jump or high jump in Canada,” Swinney said. “Just kind of a freaky skilled guy. Super excited about him, and man, between he and EJ, we got two real stallions right there that’s going to keep us as a pretty good wideout group for a while. So, really excited about them.”
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