Dabo Swinney sure loves players that hail from D.W. Daniel.

One of Clemson’s Class of 2022 commits, Griffin Batt, is from the Central (S.C.) high school. Batt has established himself as a voice in Daniel’s locker room, helping the Lions win their first State Championship in 22 years. 

His team leadership and grit helped earn him a preferred walkon spot on Clemson’s roster. 

Batt was back in a familiar place this weekend, he attended Clemson’s All in Cookout this past weekend.

“It was awesome, it was a blast,” Batt told The Clemson Insider, “Just being around all the guys, a lot of us have already committed, so getting to know that you’ll be around them for the next 4-5 years. It was really, really fun.”

Batt had an opportunity to be amongst the rest of Clemson’s 2022 class. He’s not alone in being very encouraged about what this particular recruiting class has to offer.

“Well first off, this is a stud group,” Batt said. “I think this is definitely one of the top recruiting classes that Clemson’s had in the last few years. Just the DB room, it’s getting a lot deeper with guys like Sherrod Covil, Keon Sabb and all these guys. But just really great guys, honestly. Everyone wants to get better. I’m really, really excited. 

“Being around all those guys, I was telling my mom, you come into that thing and it’s not like let’s stress about who’s going to beat out who. It’s let’s get to know these guys who you’re going to be around.”

As a lifelong Tigers fan, Batt knows the ins and outs of the program. It was the family atmosphere that sold him on the opportunity to fight for a spot and carve out a role as a PWO.

Batt’s known he’s wanted to go to Clemson since he was about seven years old. In February when Dabo Swinney offered him, he committed on the spot. He stayed a silent commit for five months and waited to make it public on July 16. 

“I kind of wanted to wait, ” Batt said. “It’s a fun process, but it’s also a little stressful. I just wanted to wait and kind of enjoy it. I waited until I got on campus and after that, I was like yeah, ‘let’s do this.’”

Swinney told Batt that he coaches players hard, it’s not just their talents. That was a big deal for not only Batt but his parents as well. 

Batt said that he thinks he’s going to redshirt his first year. Clemson expects him to be a “big special teams” player for the first couple of years and then they’ll see what happens after the first subsequent years. 

While Batt plays linebacker for his high school, he’s coming into Clemson as a tight end and a long snapper. 

“I would say I’m pretty knowledgeable,” Batt said when asked to describe his playstyle. “I would say my play is pretty fast and I like putting myself in the right place at the right time.”

Batt has spoken a lot with Clemson offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Tony Elliott, who he camped with this summer. He’s also had a chance to text here and there with some tight ends currently on the Tigers’ roster, including redshirt freshman Sage Ennis and graduate Luke Price.

Batt heard very, very little about recruiting while at Sunday’s Cookout, it was not an “in-depth look,” he said. That’s more so what the Elite Retreat and their official visits are for. 

The Elite Retreat was more so the Tigers’ coaching staff  “selling Clemson,” according to Batt. 

He plans on being at every single home game this season. Last year, Batt tried to get to as many games as he could, but this year he’s going to enjoy the last season he can be in the stands. He’s been going to Clemson games as long as he’s been a football fan.

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