Milton (Mass.) Academy four-star linebacker Kalel Mullings made the most of his spring break from a recruiting standpoint, squeezing in six unofficial visits during his three weeks off.
One of those visits occurred at Clemson. The class of 2020 prospect stopped by campus on March 23 with his parents.
Before leaving, he received a scholarship offer from the Tigers.
“Getting that offer felt great,” Mullings told The Clemson Insider. “Clemson, the past three years, they’ve been in the playoff… They’re in it every year. They seem to be doing it the right way, so it felt amazing.”
Perhaps even more amazing than the offer was Mullings’ experience during the visit, which lasted about five hours.
“I loved it a lot,” he said. “Coach (Brent) Venables was great. Everything was great about it. It was great.
“It blew me away really.”
Mullings spent the whole day with Venables, getting a personal tour of the campus, stadium, and athletic and academic facilities from Clemson’s defensive coordinator.
Clemson’s football operations complex didn’t fail to impress Mullings, even though he was bested by his parents in the bowling alley.
“Everybody talks about the slide, and the bowling alley,” Mullings said. “We actually played bowling for a little bit. I got an 8, and then my mom and my dad came in and both of them got strikes.”
“They just made me look bad,” he added, laughing. “But it was a great time.”
While Mullings didn’t get to meet any of the coaches besides Venables, as the Tigers were on spring break, he was able to speak with former Clemson linebacker and NFL draft prospect Dorian O’Daniel.
“He was great,” Mullings said.
In addition to Clemson, Mullings (6-2, 215) has collected early offers from Michigan, Maryland, North Carolina, Northwestern, Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse, San Jose State and UCLA.
The sophomore is being recruited by some schools as a running back. But most schools, including Clemson, view him as a future linebacker.
“He said that he liked me as MIKE-WILL type of guy,” Mullings said of Venables. “He was able to explain some of his defensive schemes and explain to us a little bit about how it worked. When he was doing that, that’s when it really came out that he’s a high-energy type of coach, which was great. And he loves his guys.”
Mullings runs spring track, so he doesn’t have any other trips planned at this time. Northwestern, Michigan, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke also got him on campus during his spring break.
He will be looking closely at a few different factors as he evaluates schools during the recruiting process moving forward.
“I want to play high-level, Division I football,” Mullings said. “I want the school I go to to be a great fit and it to be a family oriented, tight-knit group of guys that always have your back. Also, I want a school that allows the athletes to be a student at the same time, so you’re not just there playing football and you have times where you’re able to explore things outside of football as well.”
There’s a long way to go in his recruitment, but Clemson is in a good early spot with the Bay State standout.
“The Tigers, they’d be high on anybody’s board, so for me it’s the same thing,” he said.
Mullings said he wants to make it back to Clemson for a game this season.
247Sports ranks Mullings as the No. 2 prospect in Massachusetts, No. 4 four outside linebacker and No. 29 overall prospect in the 2020 class.