Rob Gronkowski details wild recruiting visit to Clemson, voicemail from upset Tigers fan

Rob Gronkowski didn’t end up attending Clemson following his recruiting visit to Upstate, South Carolina, but the trip nearly convinced him to.

The future Hall of Famer recently joined The Ryen Russillo podcast and was asked for his best recruiting story. For Gronk, that involved his trip to Clemson and what happened afterwards.

“My Clemson visit, I went absolutely HAM at,” Rob Gronkowski said. “I lost my phone. I remember going back to wherever we were going back to to sleep, and the guy that was hosting me, I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen him since, but bless them for even hosting me that weekend.

“I mean, they probably thought I was the biggest idiot of all time, which was true. At that time, I sure was. We were going HAM. I was on a stage jumping up and down dancing, partying, doing all that good stuff at Clemson.”

Gronkowski was a part of the class of 2007. Tommy Bowden was the head coach of Clemson at the time, while current Florida head coach Billy Napier was the tight ends coach at Clemson and Gronk’s lead recruiter.

After the trip, Rob Gronkowski was still leaning towards going to Arizona, which is where he ultimately ended up. But Clemson did give him something to think about.

“My mindset was Arizona, but I was like, ‘Wow, if Arizona for some reason just falls off the map in the next few months, I’m going to go to Clemson. This school’s great,’” Gronkowski recalled. “Loved every part of it. Loved the coach who was recruiting me, which is the head coach of Florida now – Billy Napier. He was a great guy, great recruiter.”

Gronk committed to Arizona in January of 2007, just a few weeks before Signing Day. Afterwards, he heard from a Clemson student who wasn’t happy.

“I get a voicemail in my messages. So I must have given out my number a couple of times that night. I don’t remember. I was having too good of a time. I was drinking all of the water that they’ve got down there in Clemson. It was great water,” Gronk said. “And I listened to it, and it’s some girl that goes to Clemson. And it’s like, ‘Hey, Rob. I saw you committed to the University of Arizona. I’m going to tell you this right now, you absolutely [messed] your decision up. We were all waiting for you down here in Clemson. Well, you have a good life. We’re going to miss you.

“I was like, ‘Oh, [dang] what a voicemail.’ I was showing it to all of my friends. We thought it was the greatest thing at that time, that’s for sure. I was in high school. I was 18 years old. It was the coolest voicemail I ever got in my life.”