Cassanova McKinzy's Chick-fil-A penchant latest bizarre recruiting story

CLEMSON — Recruiting, by nature, is fluid and, at times, wacky.

Recruits choose programs for sometimes-bizarre, flippant reasons.

Take Birmingham, Ala., linebacker Cassanova McKinzy, for instance.

Last month, the four-star prospect, rated as the nation’s No.19 outside linebacker by Rivals.com, took an official visit to Clemson and was, by all accounts, impressed.

But when the time came to make his college choice official by signing a national letter of intent Wednesday, McKinzy stuck with his original commitment – Auburn.

Nothing wrong with that, but his reason was truly strange.

“(It was) kind of the environment and plus they had no Chick-Fil-A on campus," McKinzy told Birmingham’s WIAT-TV, a CBS affiliate. “You had to go like, probably like 15 minutes off campus to go to like a real restaurant. Their café was kind of small.”

McKinzy added, “(Clemson’s) facilities were far away from the classes and dorms – that’s a big reason I chose Auburn.”

Thursday, he told The Birmingham News: "That's not the reason I chose Auburn or why I didn't choose Clemson. I actually wanted to give Clemson a shot, but (my choice) didn't have anything to do with Chick-fil-A.

"I was just being funny. I gave all the reasons why I chose Auburn."

First things first: Clemson does have a Chick-fil-A restaurant on campus. As the chicken chain’s official Twitter feed noted Thursday morning, Clemson was one of the nation’s first college campuses to acquire a CFA, along with Georgia Tech, in 1992.

There is also another full-service location less than a half-mile from campus, along U.S. 123.

The Auburn area features four locations, including an on-campus restaurant.

Still, it seems bizarre that McKinzy would use Chick-fil-A proximity as a major reason for his collegiate choice.

Did Clemson’s recruiters not show him CU’s on-campus location?

What did Auburn promise him? That the restaurant would be open for him on Sundays?

Perhaps McKinzy’s choice is a blessing in disguise. Some Clemson fans have shown blatant contempt for strength and conditioning coach Joey Batson, claiming CU’s players are too bulky and out-of-shape (charges Dabo Swinney vehemently denied last month).

But having a new recruit on campus with such an avowed affinity for original chicken sandwiches and waffle fries might prove a liability in conditioning workouts.

Oh, well. Hopefully McKinzy will play as an Auburn freshman, so we can settle the debate when the two teams meet in the Georgia Dome in their season opener for – you guessed it – the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.