CLEMSON — After weeks of inactivity, much to the lament of Tiger fans, the Clemson football team has made waves with its recruiting efforts this week thanks in large part to the Dabo Swinney Football Camps, which have been in full force over the last several days.
On Friday, multiple sources reported that the Tigers have picked up two commitments in Bashaud Breeland, an athlete from Allendale-Fairfax, and Marlin Lane, a running back from Daytona Beach, Fla.
Breeland became the sixth verbal commitment for the Tigers’ 2010 class, which is comprised entirely of Palmetto State prospects, with four-star Daniel standout DeAndre Hopkins chief among them.
Meanwhile, Lane became the second commitment for Clemson’s 2011 class, just a day after Daniel defensive tackle Deshaun Williams gave his pledge as the first member of the class.
Lane is also the first prospect from the Sunshine State to commit to the Tigers since Dabo Swinney took over as head coach.
Breeland is rated the nation’s No. 40 athlete according to Rivals.com, and chose the Tigers over schools such as South Carolina, Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
The speedster, who is projected as a cornerback, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and has won the Class A State title in the 400-meter hurdles the last two years for the Allendale-Fairfax track team.
The Tigers were the first school to make an official offer to Lane, who rushed for 758 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore this past season, as he is considered to be one of the nation’s top running back prospects.
Clemson has made a habit out of plucking top running talent out of Florida in the past few years, as highly coveted recruits such as C.J. Spiller and Jamie Harper have inked with the Tigers.
But of course, Swinney is just as focused on grabbing the top talent out of his own backyard — exemplified by the current makeup of his 2010 class, as well as Williams in the 2011 class.
“If we’re going to be successful — we’re never going to be able to completely support our program here because we just don’t have enough people, but there’s great high school football in this state, great coaching — we’ve got to get the best players in this state,” Swinney said during spring practice. “And for us to do that, we’ve got to emphasize it.”
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