Goose Creek LB T.J. Burrell Commits to Clemson

T.J. Burrell (5'11, 197, 4.5 40) from Goose Creek had been mentioned by Korncoot earlier today as a possible commitment and did in fact commit to Clemson tonight. Burrell turned down Georgia Tech at the end, but SC also offered. He plays for former Danny Ford assistant Chuck Reedy, who almost got the job when Coach was fired (and should have over Hatfield...). Burrell is not quite bulky enough to play SAM or MIKE, and would be a WILL linebacker or SS here. After this commitment I would think Nick Dawson from Charlotte is the one and only LB we'll be chasing from here on out.

Size is really the main question mark for Burrell. You don't have to be tall to play nested at WILL, and the weakside LB ends up in coverage walked out on receivers and backs quite a bit, so a good cover guy is preferable there as opposed to a big bruiser, but 197 is still too light. He'll have to put on 20 lbs at Clemson unless he gets Batson'd.

As a player he's fast, good in space, strong, and likes to hit. Always good traits for weakside LBs. He doesn't wrap up as well as I'd like. His pad level is good and you can tell he's been coached on his fundamentals. He sets his base and takes on the blocker like you would want to see. His backpedal/slide can be cleaned up some but he's got a good starting point. His highlight film even shows him in coverage, which is rare for LBs.

His shuttle run was 4.28 and he has a vertical leap of 35in at the SC VTO combine. He's rated #39 at his OLB position by Rivals and carries 3-star ratings, which I think are accurate.