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As Central Catholic quarterback Blake Hebert sat with Clemson University football coach Dabo Swinney earlier this month, the man who has led the Tigers to a pair of National Championships passed down a few words of advice to the young signal-caller.
“Coach Swinney and I spent a lot of time together, and we had a great conversation,” said Hebert. “I remember sitting with him and he told me — and he wasn’t trying to sway me — but he said, ‘When you know, you know.’”
Before Hebert left the campus in South Carolina, he knew.
On Friday, Hebert officially announced that he had committed to play college football for powerhouse Clemson, in front of a gathering of his teammates, coaches and family at Central Catholic.
“I remember watching Clemson play football on TV when I was a kid, so it’s amazing to be here,” said the Central junior-to-be. “I’m pumped. I’m really excited for the future. We still have two years left at Central, and I want them to be productive seasons. But I’m definitely pumped about Clemson.”
Hebert chose Clemson over a host of other FBS (Division 1-A) powers. He previously announced he has received offers from Notre Dame, Auburn, Penn State and Nebraska, among many others.
Clemson won national titles in 2016 and 2018 under Swinney, who has developed future stars including current Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and current Cleveland Brown QB Deshaun Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler.
“It came down to, ‘Why not Clemson?’” said Hebert. “When I was there, it just felt like home. Everyone in the building welcomed me and made me happy. I was there a few weeks ago, and everyone was great. I tried to find negatives, and I couldn’t. I took all my offers into consideration. I was excited about all of them. But Clemson felt right.”
Hebert is ranked the No. 6 quarterback recruit in the entire country for the class of 2025 by recruiting website “on3.com.” The site ranked him a four-star recruit (out of five) and the No. 65 overall recruit in the country for his class.
The QB is also rated a five-star recruit (out of five) by Rivals.com and a four-star recruit and the No. 11 quarterback in his class by 24/7sports.com. All three ranked him the No. 1 overall recruit in his class in Massachusetts.
Hebert is coming off a breakout sophomore season, his first as a starter, leading Central Catholic to a 9-3 record and a trip to the Division 1 semifinals.
The All-MVC pick completed 108 of 185 passes for 1,407 yards and 19 touchdowns, and ran for 297 yards and four more scores. He threw three touchdowns each in wins over rivals Methuen and Lawrence, on Thanksgiving, and against St. John’s of Shrewsbury. He spent his freshman season backing up now-University of Maine QB Ayden Pereira.
“This is awesome,” said first-year Central Catholic head football coach John Sexton, who previously served as the team’s offensive coordinator. “It’s great for Blake and his family. He has a great support system at home. Blake’s an extremely hard worker, like a rabid worker. He’s doing it every day in the classroom, in the weight room and on the field, and we’re all very proud of him.”
Hebert joins a list of stars from the Eagle-Tribune area that have gone on to commit to major Division 1-A (FBS) football powers. That includes, in recent years, North Andover brothers Zak Zinter (Michigan) and Preston Zinter (Notre Dame) and Brooks star Pat Freiermuth (Penn State) of Merrimac. Other recent FBS recruits include ex-Central Catholic brothers Jermaine Wiggins Jr. (Arizona/UMass Amherst) and Jaden Wiggins (UMass Amherst) and Andover’s E.J. Perry IV (Boston College).
“We’re really proud of Blake, pleased with his decision and excited for what the future holds for him,” said his father, former Haverhill High QB Rick Hebert. “Attending a great university like Clemson is terrific. There were so many great institutions and football programs, but he kept going back to Clemson. There was something special about the feel at Clemson. The football program speaks for itself, the coaching staff is amazing, and our visit down there was very special.”
With his college football commitment now done, Hebert continued to stress that he’s fully committed to Central Catholic for the next two seasons.
“I’m so pumped to play two more years at Central Catholic,” he said. “We have high expectations, and we’re looking to exceed them. I’m locking in at Central. I love all my guys, I love the whole coaching staff. We just started our summer workouts, and we’re ready to go.”
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