Clement keeping a close eye on Irish

Corey Clement keeps his leg busy.

The rising senior ran for 2,510 yards and 36 touchdowns at running
back last season for Glassboro (N.J.) High, but he did more than carry
the offensive load.

Clement didn’t have time to celebrate his touchdowns on the sidelines
with his teammates. He also lined up as the kicker for extra points
for the NJSIAA South Jersey Group I champions.

“I’ve always been able to kick all my life,” Clement said.

A 55-yard field goal in practice as a sophomore stands as the longest
boot Clement has made. Clement also played defensive end last season
recording 72 tackles and six sacks.

His wide variety of skills has the 5-foot-11, 206-pound prospect
getting serious interest from a number of BCS schools.

Back on May 9, Clement tweeted out a list of four schools (Florida
State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Pittsburgh) that were thought to be
the top schools he was considering. But in a recent phone interview,
Clement said he shouldn’t have tweeted that out. He said he’s still
open to all schools at this point.

“I don’t want to push anybody away,” Clement said. “I have to make it
up to a campus for myself to actually feel like this is home for me.
I’m just going to play it by that.”

Clement hopes to make a number of campus visits this fall, but hasn’t
set much in stone yet. He does have a visit to Pittsburgh lined up for
June 16.

“I’m just finishing out the school year, and then once I get done I
can actually narrow down my list,” Clement said. “Then I can actually
make it to my practice but still make it out to the colleges I want to
see.”

Notre Dame is on the list of schools he wants to visit, which includes
West Virginia and Big Ten schools like Wisconsin, Ohio State and
Nebraska.

“It would be a life-changing experience if I could say I graduated
from the University of Notre Dame,” Clement said. “That’s just a big
jump start in my career.”

Clement said he talked with running backs coach Tony Alford on the
phone last weekend and expected a Notre Dame coach to stop by his
school on Thursday.

As a more traditional running back, Clement said he would prefer to
play in a power-running scheme, but could fit in a spread offense as
well.

“I would call myself a balanced guy because I’ve got the power, the
speed, the agility, and everything falls into one,” Clement said.

He compares himself to former Pittsburgh running back and Philadelphia
Eagle LeSean McCoy. An idol of his growing up, McCoy is a big reason
that Clement is so interested in Pittsburgh.

“I’m kind of shifty, just like him, and I can run somebody over when I
feel like it,” Clement said.

The Irish have yet to land a running back in the 2013 class, which
could leave Clement in the running in Notre Dame’s eyes, but won’t be
a decided factor for Clement.

“If they don’t have a commit, I guess that leaves an opportunity for
me, but that doesn’t really matter,” Clement said. “Whatever team I go
to, there’s still going to be competition within their depth chart.
I’ll still have to work my way to the No. 1 spot.”

Clement is rated as a three-star running back by Rivals.com and
247Sports.com, with 247Sports ranking him as the No. 43 running back
in the country.

Twitter chatter

A pair of Notre Dame recruiting targets in the 2013 class
reported visits from the Irish at their schools. Wide receiver Laquon
Treadwell from Crete, Ill., tweeted that Notre Dame was at Crete-Monee
High School on Wednesday. Wyomissing, Pa. linebacker Alex Anzalone
tweeted on Tuesday night that Notre Dame would be at his spring
football practice on Wednesday

Notre Dame made the top lists of a pair of senior-to-be wide
receivers from Florida on Tuesday. Tampa Jesuit’s Travis Johnson (6-3,
231) tweeted out 15 schools that he’s considering and Alvin Bailey
(5-11, 170) from Armwood High in Seffner, Fla., listed 13 schools at
the top of his list.

Commits on Rivals 250

Rivals.com updated their player rankings for the Class of 2013 by
releasing their top 250 prospects in the country on Wednesday.
Offensive lineman John Montelus received the highest ranking of any
Notre Dame commit at No. 79. Offensive lineman Steve Elmer (107) and
quarterback Malik Zaire (111) joined him on the list.