Priority defensive end loves Clemson after Elite Retreat

Wesolak says Clemson and UNC lead.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Jun 14 13:17:03 GMT-04:00 2021

One of the priority targets for the defensive coaches in the 2022 recruiting cycle was on campus for this past weekend's Elite Retreat and said after the visit that he loves Clemson.

Defensive end DJ Wesolak (6-6 230) of Boonville (MO) was among the nearly dozen prospects invited to visit Clemson unofficially this weekend for the Tigers' first Elite Retreat. Though the prospects had to pay their travel and lodging, the visits had an official appearance to them because the players did many of the same things they would do on an official visit.

Wesolak is a four-star prospect who is ranked the No. 10 edge rusher nationally and the No. 3 prospect in Missouri in the 247Sports Composite. Last season, he had 59 tackles with 19 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

He also has visited Missouri and Georgia, and he left Clemson and went directly to North Carolina. He has official visits set with Florida this weekend and Southern Cal the next weekend. He also has listed among his favorites Florida, LSU, Arizona State, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Notre Dame, Miami, Auburn, Alabama and Texas A&M.

Wesolak had this to say in reviewing his visit with the Tigers:

“Absolutely amazing. When you got down there, you saw what everybody preaches about Clemson. Their culture, everybody loved each other there, everybody is a big family. How coach (Dabo) Swinney goes about his business. He takes the players’ health first before winning championships. He wants the players to be successful in life and be able to be winners before they become champions.”

Wesolak on the campus:

“Everything is really close. It’s beautiful there. Everything has a lot of history behind it, and it means a lot to a lot of the players. A lot of the alumni are around, and you can just see the love. Everybody is supportive around there. Anytime you need help, anybody is willing to help.”

On how coordinator Brent Venables sees him on the defense:

“They see me as an edge rusher, as a hybrid. They just showed me what I could. And the same with other players, their coaches explained what they could be. They just showed us everything.”

On what the visit does for Clemson in his recruiting:

“It helps a lot. They seem like family. You can have all the facilities, have great things, but Clemson shows that the people inside the facility that can help you reach your max, that gives a lead to any school. And Coach Swinney, being with him all weekend, it shows. He’s a loving person. He’s going to be real with anybody. He doesn’t try to go to the negative, he always tries to pump up the positives.”

On where things stand with his recruiting after the Clemson visit:

“I love Clemson. I’m loving UNC right now. Those are the two schools leading after being there. Of my four visits, those two have really stood out to me. I love Georgia, but I’ve only been there once. It’s been a short time since I’ve been offered by them. I’ll be down at Florida next. That’s been a school that’s been on my list. Let’s see what they have out there.”