Standout safety Hayden Stepp (6-3 175) of Las Vegas is a national level recruit who could play for anyone in the country in 2027. But instead of wasting a lot of time, he’s already settled on a final five of Clemson, Alabama, Tennessee, Miami and Oregon.
Stepp, who lived in Germany with his military parents until 2017, has made one visit to Clemson. He was in for the SMU game. That was not the finest moment for Clemson secondary coaches Mike Reed and Mickey Conn as Mustang quarterback Kevin Jennings passed for 290 yards and two touchdowns. But other than witnessing the torching of the secondary, Stepp couldn’t have had a better time on a game visit, and that’s one of the reasons Clemson is in his final five.
“It’s just the culture they have over there, and the coaches as well,” Stepp said. “Coach Reed, the corners coach, I just got along with him very well. The culture they showed me when I came out there for my first time, I just really loved it. It just felt like home really.”
Stepp, of course, focused on the play of the corners on his visit, and what he saw, and heard from Reed, he liked.
“I like to play man, and corners get to play man a lot, so he said that’s one thing that I’ll get to do out there,” Stepp said. “I’ll be in press too like a lot too. Press is one of the big things. He just said how physical I am at the line and all that, so he said that will fit right in over there.”
Stepp also liked the way Redd worked with his players.
“He’s a really hands on coach, and you can really tell that he’s passionate about what he does,” Stepp said. “That was one of the main things. He’s a coach that really wants to develop you from the start, from like your first day on campus. That’s one thing I took away from watching him.”
Stepp plans to make recruiting visits to his finalists for junior days and spring practices, and then, one more swing through for each on official visits. The decision will come after that in early summer.
“I’m not too sure yet,” he said about a favorite. “It was really hard to narrow down to five. By revisiting the schools again will definitely help me figure that out.”
This season, Stepp had 24 tackles with four pass break ups. In 2024, he totaled 20 tackles with one interception and six breakups.