Clemson Football: Tracking NFL visits made by former Tigers
By Barry Shuck
Where are former Clemson football players visiting as they look to begin their NFL careers? Here’s an in-depth list of their visits.
If nothing else, the NFL is great at scouting players and getting to know them personally. There are three college All-Star games which include the East-West Shrine Game, NFLPA Bowl and most importantly the Senior Bowl.
Each of these allows coaches to get close to players and see what they are like off the field. The Senior Bowl is coached by a full NFL coaching staff and many a player on their All-Star squad ended up being drafted by their NFL staff which had coached them for a solid week.
In March, the combine is held every year in Indianapolis. The NFL invites 300 college prospects who are then accurately measured and weighed, plus timed in the 40, pump weights, and then go through a multitude of agility drills over the course of their stay in Indy.
The results during this time can allow a player to rise in the draft or fall. In addition, intelligence tests are given and NFL coaches, as well as GMs and owners, have full access to every player who attends but are limited on how many interviews each team can have.
Then there are the pro days. Clemson had its pro day on March 14. Similar to the combine, each player that qualifies for the upcoming NFL Draft April 25-27 does a variety of drills which showcase their skills in a familiar environment and a field they are comfortable with.
Finally, there are the Top-30 visits which allow each NFL club the opportunity to bring in 30 different players of their choosing to their team facilities.
The players will tour the complex, meet with position coaches and more importantly the front office executives especially the GM, but will not conduct any workouts. This period begins annually in mid-March.
Not all teams bring in 30 guys and in fact usually bring in only a portion of their allotment. And not every player that receives an invite is first-round talent. Most clubs bring in guys who they have earmarked as quality backups to players who are entrenched as the starter at a certain position, but will move on in a few years or is injury-prone.
Sometimes when a team is very needy at a particular spot, they may bring in several players that match that playing position. The time spent during a Top-30 visit also allows the franchise and its personnel some needed one-on-one time not only to get to know the player better but to also evaluate whether the athlete can weave into the team’s ambiance and gel with the team.
Below is a list of which Clemson players had (or will have) meetings with prospective NFL clubs including Top-30 visits, and by which teams.
Atlanta Falcons
DE Austin Bryant (combine)
DT Dexter Lawrence (combine)
Carolina Panthers
DE Clelin Ferrell (Top-30)
OT Mitch Hyatt (combine)
DT Christian Wilkins (combine)
Lawrence (combine)
Chicago Bears
CB Mark Fields (Top-30)
Kansas City Chiefs
Lawrence (combine)
Miami Dolphins
Lawrence (combine)
CB Trayvon Mullen (Top-30)
New York Giants
Ferrell (Top-30)
Lawrence (Top-30)
New York Jets
Wilkins (combine)
Philadelphia Eagles
WR Hunter Renfrow (Senior Bowl)
Wilkins (combine)
San Francisco 49ers
Renfrow (combine)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Lawrence (Top-30)
Ferrell (Top-30)
Tennessee Titans
Wilkins (Pro Day)