South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Tate still tied to Clemson
U-School offensive lineman says commitment is as ‘strong as ever’
Although the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to all spring sports in Florida, recruiting has not stopped.
The NCAA has instituted a national dead period through July 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but coaches and players can still communicate over the phone and electronically. Players can also still receive verbal scholarship offers, plot their futures and verbally commit to programs.
With Broward and Palm Beach counties still boasting dozens of future college football players, we’re checking in with various prospects to see how their recruitment is going despite the sports disruption.
The series continues with University School offensive lineman Marcus Tate.
Tate, who was named a first-team All-County pick as a sophomore and as a junior, is one of the top offensive linemen in the 2021 class.
Tate has been committed to the Clemson Tigers since Sept. 24, 2019. He is rated a four-star prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings. Tate is also listed as the No. 5 offensive guard and the No. 100 player in the 2021 class.
Here is what Tate had to say
You’ve been committed to Clemson for about eight months already. How would you describe where your commitment is now?
“It’s strong as ever. I would say that, if anything, these past couple months, they didn’t stop recruiting me. They’re trying to get me to go to their school even though I’m already committed to go there. I keep in contact with them so frequently, it’s honestly great. I feel like I’m in good hands right now, and I feel like I made the right decision.”
How often do you speak to the Clemson staff ? What are those conversations like?
“Every day. Every day, I’m talking to coach [Robbie] Caldwell, the offensive line coach, of course. It’s a constant. We’re just talking about what we’re doing today, how’s school going for me; they always ask [about] my grades. We just talk about things that work well and they’re giving me advice on how I can take my game to the next level. I like talking to them about that a lot. And we just talk sometimes so we can talk, so it’s pretty cool. I’ve got a really good relationship with him. So I’m looking forward to it being more personal when I get up there.”
Aside from Clemson, what other teams have been in touch with you the most, and do you plan on taking any other official visits once recruiting opens up again?
“The thing with Clemson is: They tell you before you commit, ‘Make sure that you’re ready to commit,’ because when you’re committed to us, they don’t like you wandering about other schools and going on visits and talking to other schools. … They want us to be committed to them. When I committed, I made sure I was ready to give up that part of the recruiting process, and I was. I didn’t really like the process that much. Most kids do, but I [would rather] go on about my life and getting started. I was just ready for that next step, so I already put that aside.
“But I mean, for the most part, no, teams haven’t stopped texting me. Miami texts me all the time, and Florida texts me all the time. They text my parents. Obviously, because I’m an in-state recruit, that’s why they haven’t given up, but yeah, they’re very persistent about me going to their schools. They’re always sending me stuff. But I’m 100% to Clemson. I don’t mind.”
What were some of the benefits of committing as early as you did?
“For me, especially, at the time, I had a lot of things going on. Not even just with football, just other things going on. I was just ready to not have to focus on my recruiting anymore. I was having to have to entertain coaches and answer calls and texts and all that stuff. I felt, when I first visited [Clemson], I felt like I was really feeling them. I took a couple more visits to other schools for like three months, and I visited them twice. And then the fourth time, that was it. I was glad because I didn’t have to worry about where I’m going to go to college now. I didn’t have to deal with all the recruiting stuff and all the talking to coaches. I was just ready to focus on myself and get better and that’s all I have to worry about. I didn’t have to worry about entertaining any other coaches than the coaches I was committed to. I was just about my business, and that’s how it benefited me. It just let me be about my business.”
You were one of the first players to commit to Clemson in this class. How much has the coaching staff tasked you with recruiting other guys, especially in South Florida, where there’s so much talent? And who are some of the players they’ve asked you to pitch Clemson to?
“As it stands right now, we’re pretty much getting everybody that we’re recruiting because we’re not just offering everybody. The people that we have offered, for the most part, have been committed. But I know we’re heavy on [Cardinal Gibbons wide receiver] Troy Stellato, we’re heavy on [Stellacoom (Wa.) High wide receiver] Emeka [Egbuka], but he’s from, like, Seattle. We’re big on [Dudley (N.C.) High defensive lineman] Payton Page because we’re taking a Dtackle, one D-tackle. And we’re big on [Warwick (Pa.) High offensive lineman] Nolan Rucci and [Robinson Secondary (Va.) High offensive lineman] Tristan Leigh and [Bleckley County (Ga.) High offensive lineman] Amarius Mims. … And we’re big on [Miami Palmetto defensive back] Corey Collier, [American Heritage defensive back] James Williams and [Miami Palmetto defensive back] Jason Marshall.
Especially down here, I would say Jason Marshall, Corey Collier and James Williams. I’ve talked to them more than anybody, especially Troy. I’ve talked to Troy because I know he’s very high on us. We’re in his top two. … [It’s] probably James and Troy that I talk to the most because I know we’re up there in their top three and top two. Corey and Jason, I know they’re going to take a little bit longer, so I just keep it steady.
I don’t try to be annoying. I just see where their head is at and put my two cents in for them. But I feel like that’s worked. That’s what we did with [Weddington (N.C.) High running back] Will Shipley for the longest, and he [committed]. I’m glad that Will came. Our class does a great job of recruiting kids; it’s not just me. Everbody does: Beaux Collins … Dacari [Collins], Ryan Linthicum — we’re all heavy on recruiting.”
I’ve seen you tweet a lot of pro-Clemson stuff. Do you think it’s part of your role to promote the team?
“I just retweet them because I just like what they’re posting. I just repost what I like. Something personal you have to see about it is I repost a lot of social justice stuff. You’d really have to go on my Twitter feed to see it, but I just repost what I like. And then I know [things] that won’t hurt me in my recruitment. I like to express my personality with the restrictions that I’m given, and I like a lot of the stuff that I post. That’s a lot of me that you see in those posts. It’s not really me promoting [Clemson]; I just like it. … For me, I know if I do get to the platform that I want to get to, then I’m going to be very into [social justice], just speaking my mind and see if I can put my two cents, but I’ve always been passionate about it.”
What are your biggest goals going into your senior season?
“Obviously, the main goal is to win a state championship. My sophomore year, we were very close. But I feel like this year, we’ve got to do something. I’ve got to win one. I’m very passionate about winning. I love winning. I’ve got to win me one. That’s probably my biggest goal. But in terms of more specific for me, I want to have a better year in terms of run blocking. That’s been kind of what I’ve slacked in, in terms of my game. I want to see an improvement in my film in my run blocking and finishing blocks. That’s more personal. And just having more complete games like … I just want to be more complete and have better percentages and stuff like that. Those are more like just my personal goals. … Just winning one game at a time, but I want a state championship, man, like really bad.
“We’ve got some young guys going in. when I was first coming to U-School, it was kind of new for offensive linemen because when [former U-School coach and current St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger] Harriott left, they weren’t getting a lot of kids. But I’ve been the first top-10 lineman that they’ve had in a while, since Harriott. They’ve got some kids coming in, and I just want to show them something real, like how I went about my business. That’s actually a main goal for me, if I can leave some type of guidance for some of the young linemen we’ve got coming in.”