Will Blackston, a DE/TE/LS out of Belton Honea Path (BHP), has accepted a Preferred Walk-on Offer (PWO) to play for the Clemson Tigers. This comes a day after friend and SC Shrine Bowl teammate Will Boggs also accepted a similar offer.
Blackston, 6-2 240, played several positions for BHP, playing defensive end, tight end, and long snapper, and even filling in along the defensive line.
Going back to last year, Clemson signed the bulk of the class during the first signing period, using the 2nd signing day for focusing on PWO's and walk-ons. This appears to be the same blueprint for this year. Clemson signed 23 players during the 1st signing day, and lately, has offered several local stars to come on board.
Preferred walk-on. What does this really mean? It means that a college coach wants the player just as much as a scholarship worthy guy, but they don't have enough scholarships in their pocket to give you. The player is treated just like a scholarship guy -- invited to fall camp and get a chance to compete. There are only 105 spots for Fall Camp, so if you get invited as a PWO you are still valuable to these college coaches. Players such as Hunter Renfrow, Darien Rencher, Luke Price, and Daniel Rodriguez are just a few of former Clemson players who walked on. Jordy Nelson (KState), J.J. Watt (Wisconsin), and Santana Moss (Miami) are a few of the more successful players who made the most of their opportunity.
