East defensive end Xavier Kelly picks Clemson

East High defensive end Xavier Kelly committed to Clemson on Friday afternoon, announcing his decision online.

“I wanted to go to a place with good academics, good athletics and a place I can excel,” Kelly said. “For the next four years, I’ll be attending the University of Clemson.

“They have a family environment and that’s what I love about them. I have a good vibe with the coaches, and they’re all about me … that’s one of the big-time schools in the ACC.”

Kelly (6-foot-5 and 250 pounds) orally committed to Kansas State in November 2014, but withdrew it in March to re-open his recruitment. A four-star recruit, Kelly pared his list down to eight schools earlier this month.

The other schools were Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Georgia, Kansas State, Oregon and TCU. According to a report, he cut out Kansas State, Oregon and TCU on Thursday night.

Kelly also helped lead East to the Class 6A boys basketball title in March.

Kelly’s original plan was to cut his list of schools to five by the end of the summer and announce his decision at the Army All-American game in San Antonio in January. He was in Clemson, S.C., last weekend for the school’s All-In Cookout with a group of other top-level recruits.

“I knew where I wanted to go and didn’t want to lie to the other coaches,” Kelly said. “I wanted them to be able to move on with recruiting other players.”

Kelly, who announced from his father’s home in Savannah, Ga., will return to Wichita at the beginning of August. He said he won’t enroll early at Clemson for spring football and will play basketball for the Aces this season. His younger brother, Elijah, is a forward at East.

“I’ll finish my senior season at East,” Kelly said. “I’m going to play basketball and graduate with my class and all of that.”

He and his father, Will, visited Clemson on June 1 and met with coach Dabo Swinney. He said he will wear his high school number (22) with the Tigers.

“I knew from the first visit that (Clemson) was the place I really wanted to be,” Kelly said. “(Swinney) is just a great guy, even outside of football. From the first time we met and started talking I could just tell he was a great person.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 1:09 PM with the headline "East defensive end Xavier Kelly picks Clemson."