Wave of football offers roll in for Logansport's Clem

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RJ Clem’s recruitment in football heated up in a major way this spring.

And why not? The Logansport junior stands at 6 feet, 7 inches and weighs 265 pounds. He has an 84-inch wingspan. He’s got ideal size for an offensive tackle prospect.

And he’s strong enough where he’s a state finalist in the discus and plans on being a state contender in both throwing events in track and field next year. And he can move well enough that he’s one of the best basketball players in the area as well.

He currently holds 16 Division-I offers to play football. Last week, just before the state track meet, he talked about the timeline of his recruitment.

“I went to that Notre Dame Camp last year and then got a nice little writeup and I didn’t hear really anything all summer and all fall,” he said. “I went to Western Michigan and had a few invites to go watch a game or two, but I wasn’t expecting an offer really. And then my first one was either late December or early to mid-January and it was Yale. I didn’t really know how to react. I was on the phone with them and I was kind of shocked.

“And then it was pretty slow until Spring Break when I went on all those visits. And then it took another break and just about two weeks ago was where it got really hectic with coaches coming in and everything. But I have a little bit of a break now just because they’re all coming back from vacation and they can’t go see players in person anymore I think until probably July because they’re doing all their official visits and stuff.”

Per his X account, Clem had a lot of college coaches visit him at LHS over the final weeks of school of his junior year.

His offers thus far, in the order that he has received them, include Yale, Harvard, Penn, Liberty, Western Michigan, New Mexico, Princeton, Central Michigan, Wake Forest, Bowling Green, Michigan State, Kansas State, Central Florida, Iowa State, Miami of Ohio and Navy.

Clem has a busy summer ahead of him. He’s currently doing workouts, practices and summer scrimmages with the Logansport football and boys basketball teams. He’s set to participate in the IBCA/IHSAA Top 100 Underclass Showcase on Friday at Ben Davis High School.

Clem and his family have already visited some of the schools and plan to visit more but won’t be able to visit all of them before the end of the summer. The visits are paid for by the schools.

“There’s been a few schools that I’m not gonna be able to visit and I’ve been fortunate enough to already have seen their campus and meet their coaches in person. We’re trying to see as many new places as possible,” he said. “Like Michigan State and Wake Forest I haven’t been to yet. I’m pretty excited for those though. But the State Finals obviously takes away a weekend, which is a good problem to have. And then maybe a few after July if I’m not committed already. But we’ll see when that comes.”

Clem is hoping to make his decision by the end of July.

“I was thinking before the season if possible,” he said. “If I have new opportunities that might change. Maybe even by the end of June after going on some officials because I don’t want to have to worry about it all season.”

Clem said he doesn’t currently have a favorite.

“I’ve met a lot of good coaches. I don’t think I’ve met one coach I don’t like,” he said. “And then obviously all the schools are pretty good schools. But I’m still trying to sort through it all and just think about it and talk to my parents (Shannon and Libby) because obviously they’re gonna be a big part it too, as well as my sister (Lily).”

Clem, who has a 4.3 GPA at LHS, has a good mix of choices whether he wants to go for more of an academic school or mid-major or high-major.

As for what he wants to study, he said, “I originally thought engineering, but D-I football isn’t really compatible with it. So possibly business, a business administration major.”

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