Dorman SAF Kentavion Anderson earlier this week named a final six of USC, Clemson, Michigan, Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. He has also decided to make his commitment announcement on his birthday, May 16th, and only take an official visit to that school.
Anderson said he will visit all the finalists in the spring beginning with Clemson for a junior day March 8th. He will also get back to South Carolina for a spring practice.
Anderson’s most recent visit was to Clemson last Friday when he got the chance to meet new defensive coordinator Tom Allen for the first time.
“Getting to meet Coach Allen for the first time was just amazing,” Anderson said. “He’s a great coach. We talked about what their defensive schemes are going to be about this year. It was a pleasure to meet him and all the coaches that come with the staff. His players come first more than anything. He cares about you more than just a football player. He wants to get to know you more and go from there.”
Allen is just getting to know Anderson, but he already knows he would want to deploy him in the secondary.
“Just playing all three safety positions from nickel, to strong to free safety,” Anderson said. “Just getting on the field as early as possible and making plays.”
Coming out of that visit, the speculation heated up in the recruiting media world that Anderson was starting to really feel it for the Tigers.
“They are a good school,” he said. “I’m still deciding if I want to go there or not. I’m just trying to limit the schools down and see what they offer and how fast I can get on the field.”
The Saturday before visiting Clemson, Anderson was back at USC for a junior day. As you might expect, he got a lot of personal attention from head coach Shane Beamer and secondary coach Torrian Gray. He said it was important to visit with them in a non-game day setting.
“Just getting to be around Coach Beamer more because on game days you really don’t get to be around them like that,” Anderson said. “Being around Coach Gray more and the whole coaching staff, really family vibes from them. It was a good thing for me to go back down there and go visit.”
Like Clemson, Anderson said the message from the Gamecocks is they would use him all over the secondary.
“Just play all over the field really,” Anderson said. “Just be myself on defense. I’m flexible. I could play really anywhere on the field. They see me getting a whole bunch of playing time just going in there and doing what I do.”
So, Anderson finds himself caught up in the middle of the Clemson-USC rivalry from a recruiting standpoint.
“They are just recruiting me hard,” Anderson said. “I can say about both of them, they are recruiting me hard. They’ve got great coaches. It’s just an in-state rivalry and I’m blessed to have offers from both of them.”