Trieu: Michigan State O-line target R.J. Clem 'the whole package'
Michigan State offered Logansport (Indiana) offensive lineman R.J. Clem this week, starting a run of Power Four offers.
As of mid-May, Logansport (Indiana) junior R. J. Clem had 10 scholarship offers, but none from Power Four schools.
Michigan State changed that when offensive line coach Nick Tabacca offered on May 18, then Kansas State, UCF and Iowa State followed. Tabacca already had been in to see Clem work out the previous week. At 6-foot-7, 265 pounds with an 84-inch wingspan and athleticism that allows him to excel on the basketball court, it should come as no surprise he is coveted.
“He got thrown in freshman year, middle of the season,” Logansport head coach Troy Hudson said. “One of the left tackles had gone down and he ended up getting his first start as a freshman. ”Hudson admits Clem may not have been fully ready for that stage at the time, but few freshmen are.
As a sophomore, he was more up to the task, and then was even better as a junior. He has continued to improve as a thrower in track and field also with a 50-foot shot put and 156-foot effort in the discus. “He presents a lot,” Hudson said.