Four-Star Branden Strozier on Clemson's 2023 Class: 'It's going to be something special'

We recently sat down with four-star cornerback Branden Strozier‍ from Alpharetta, Georgia, to talk about his experience with the recruiting process. Strozier gave us some insight into his commitment to Clemson and much more during this exclusive interview.

On when major programs started coming after him:

  "Really last year, towards the middle of my season, that's when I really started to play up to my potential. I felt like I was playing how I was supposed to play. That's why I felt like colleges were supposed to be looking at it."

On the coaches that made him feel most comfortable:

"It was a couple of coaches, you know, Coach Martinez from Tennessee and Coach Collins from Kentucky those are the real two big ones that I felt like I built a really great relationship with over the time."

On what made Mike Reed stand out from the rest:

"The ability of him being in the coaching staff-- his track record. Being the DB coach that he is, that's what really sold me on him."

On so many guys from Georgia being a part of this 2023 class:

"It's great. Guys that I've previously known even before I committed to Clemson. It's great knowing that we already got a connection built. Since we're gonna be in college together, we're gonna continue on building that connection and relationship as we play together."

On private school competition in Georgia:

"It might not be a top competition like AAAAAAA, AAAAAA, AAAAA, but we still got some dogs in 1A. We play a good amount of teams this year that's got D1 Power Five players on their team like any other program in Georgia."

On why Clemson was the school for him:

"Really just the family atmosphere that's there with all the coaches and stuff like that. What sold them and the rest of my family on Clemson was the P.A.W. program, knowing that I'd be secure not only just football but life after football and stuff like that. So that's what really sold them on Clemson."

On playing other sports in high school:

"It's really just a football and track, that's all. I tried basketball before. I felt like it wasn't the sport that I was supposed to be playing, so I just stuck with football and track."

On the skills he has been able to take from track to the football field:

"Opening up. That's the main thing that my track coach was telling me, just opening up. I felt like that transferred towards my football season too. Get into my stride, really helping me make the plays that I make."

On when he plans to be at Clemson:

"I know I want to go to either the (Furman game) or (Louisiana Tech) game. I know Furman is gonna be the first game of the year, and I feel like that's gonna be a big game, with all the atmosphere and everything. But Louisiana Tech is gonna be the first night game of the year. I feel like the energy there is going to be crazy. Hopefully, I can get to those two. The Miami game-- my family's like big Miami fans--  I know that Clemson too, so right, if I go to that one, it's gonna be a good one."

On his family members that are Miami fans:

  "At the end of the day, they're gonna be proud of me no matter what. They're gonna respect the decision that I make. Wherever you want to go, we're gonna follow you, but you can still hear a little bit of the Miami fan in them. I talk trash about the game that's coming up. Of course, they wanted me to go to Miami, but they found out that and realized that Clemson is where home is."

On how his season is going:

"We started off 2-0 this year. We won our first game, and then we just won this past Friday, so it was good. In my high school years, I haven't been 1-0. I haven't been 2-0. So it feels good coming off those two wins. We've got a bye week this week, and the week after that, we got a real big game. So having the momentum and being 2-0 is definitely gonna be a huge factor in playing this next game."

On a message about that 2023 recruiting class:

"It's going to be something special. We're looking at bringing it back to Clemson. Just know that. That's something we talked about, just bringing the national championship back to Clemson. So we hope to get that job done in the next couple of years."