Notre Dame football: Clement keeping a close eye on Irish
May 31, 2012|By TYLER JAMES | South Bend Tribune
Corey Clement keeps his leg busy.
The rising senior ran for 2,510 yards and 36 touchdowns at running back last season for Glassboro (N.J.) High, but he did more than carry the offensive load.
Clement didn't have time to celebrate his touchdowns on the sidelines with his teammates. He also lined up as the kicker for extra points for the NJSIAA South Jersey Group I champions.
"I've always been able to kick all my life," Clement said.
A 55-yard field goal in practice as a sophomore stands as the longest boot Clement has made. Clement also played defensive end last season recording 72 tackles and six sacks.
His wide variety of skills has the 5-foot-11, 206-pound prospect getting serious interest from a number of BCS schools.
Back on May 9, Clement tweeted out a list of four schools (Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Pittsburgh) that were thought to be the top schools he was considering. But in a recent phone interview, Clement said he shouldn't have tweeted that out. He said he's still open to all schools at this point.
"I don't want to push anybody away," Clement said. "I have to make it up to a campus for myself to actually feel like this is home for me. I'm just going to play it by that."
Clement hopes to make a number of campus visits this fall, but hasn't set much in stone yet. He does have a visit to Pittsburgh lined up for June 16.
"I'm just finishing out the school year, and then once I get done I can actually narrow down my list," Clement said. "Then I can actually make it to my practice but still make it out to the colleges I want to see."
Notre Dame is on the list of schools he wants to visit, which includes West Virginia and Big Ten schools like Wisconsin, Ohio State and Nebraska.
"It would be a life-changing experience if I could say I graduated from the University of Notre Dame," Clement said. "That's just a big jump start in my career."
Clement said he talked with running backs coach Tony Alford on the phone last weekend and expected a Notre Dame coach to stop by his school on Thursday.
As a more traditional running back, Clement said he would prefer to play in a power-running scheme, but could fit in a spread offense as well.
"I would call myself a balanced guy because I've got the power, the speed, the agility, and everything falls into one," Clement said.
He compares himself to former Pittsburgh running back and Philadelphia Eagle LeSean McCoy. An idol of his growing up, McCoy is a big reason that Clement is so interested in Pittsburgh.
"I'm kind of shifty, just like him, and I can run somebody over when I feel like it," Clement said.
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