Robert Nkemdiche: Top Recruit Takes Safe Road by Choosing Clemson over SEC Teams

Robert Nkemdiche is hoping to be the next great defensive lineman to go through Clemson into the NFL.

Like Da'Quan Bowers and Ricky Sapp, two former five-star recruits, as well as the likes of Jarvis Jenkins, Andre Branch, Brandon Thompson and the late Gaines Adams, Nkemdiche is looking to hone his skills and become a top-flight NFL player.

Clemson has a good track record of helping big, talented, athletic defensive linemen reach their full potential. Before Bowers' injury set him back, he was on track to be a potential No. 1 overall selection and Adams was a top five selection.

Most of the recruiting world looks at the 6'4", 278-pound Grayson High School (Loganville, GA) star as one of the most complete recruits in some time.

He held offers from almost every major program and was being heavily pursued by a number of them, most notably the SEC powerhouses.

But Nkemdiche took the safe road and chose Clemson, an ACC school noted for working with talented defensive linemen.

The ACC is not the SEC—in fact, they are very different.

The SEC trumps the ACC in every category across the board, with the possible exception of quarterback play in recent years. But this year, the SEC's trio of Tyler Wilson, Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray overshadows that of Logan Thomas, E.J. Manuel and Tajh Boyd in the ACC.

In short, the ACC is a place where Nkemdiche could become an absolute superstar, but he won't have to compete the same way he would if he were to play at, say, Ole Miss or LSU.

He won't have the destructive schedule of playing in an SEC division. Instead, he'll play Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia and Boston College. Don't get me wrong, all are great schools with respectable football programs, but it's not LSU, Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn--or Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida for that matter.

Had Nkemdiche chosen an SEC school, he wouldn't only have to fight for it every Saturday, but he'd have to fight for it every practice.

There is a good chance this Georgia native goes on to become a superstar college player and potential first round NFL draft pick, but by choosing Clemson (which is not necessarily the wrong choice) he's chosen to chase down that dream in a safer environment.