VALDOSTA — When you meet Josh Clemons, it is hard to ignore his tall, 6-foot-5 stature. It is also hard to ignore the big smile that sits on the 17-year-old’s face.

That is just Josh Clemons. He is a fun, hard working student-athlete who loves to smile. At least that is what teachers and coaches at Lowndes High School will tell you.

As for what members of opposing football teams that have dealt with Clemons throughout his career for the Vikings’ football team will say, they might describe him a little differently. They might call Clemons scary, freaky, fast, unbelievable and great, all of which are fair to use when describing the state’s top prospect in this year’s senior class.

After all, the senior finished the 2011 season as the Region 1-AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year, while also being named first team All-State.

Listed as a four-star recruit, Clemons is ranked as the No. 2 outside linebacker in the nation and the No. 1 overall prospect in the state. He is ranked as the 23rd overall prospect in the nation, according to ESPNU’s Top 150 list. Despite all the national attention that he has earned, Clemons has managed to stay humble throughout the entire process.

“My grand dad always taught me to never brag on myself, always let others do it for you,” Clemons said. “I don’t really pay attention to all of it. If it isn’t a coach calling me that I don’t know, then I don’t answer it, and I just try to stay focused on the goal.”

As National Signing Day quickly approaches, and the attention on Clemons continues to intensify, the senior is set to display his talents on a national level, as he is spending the week in San Antonio, Texas as a participant in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Clemons’ week in the Lone Star State will conclude Saturday with the playing of the game, which will air on NBC at 1 p.m.

“It is exciting,” Clemons said. “I am going to go out there and try to have fun and compete to the best of my abilities against all of those great players that will be out there. I think it is another way to show that you can play if you can play against the best.”

 While in Texas for bowl preparation this week, Clemons won’t have to look too far for a familiar face. Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson is serving as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator for the East team, guaranteeing that McPherson will get one last chance to work with Clemons before his departure to college.

“I think it is important because now I have my coach,” Clemons said. “So now I feel somewhat comfortable around some of the other plays. This is probably my first all-star game that I’ve played in since Boys and Girls Club, so it will be good to have somebody there that I know.”

“We are having a good time,” McPherson said about the final chance to work with Clemons. “Practice has been going well. It has been a good week... Josh has done real well with these guys. He is on their level, especially physically.”

All the players participating in the game will have an opportunity to work with the Wounded Warrior Project, which is an organization that provides support to wounded soldiers. Today, the two teams will visit the Wounded Warrior Hospital, where they will be assigned a warrior, which will allow them to build a personal relationship with a soldier.

Despite offers from the majority of major Division I colleges, Clemons will not announce his college choice at the game, like many top prospects. For Clemons, his choice hasn’t been made yet. In fact, following the game, Clemons will go back to enjoying the recruiting process, visiting the University of Georgia on Jan. 13 and Florida State on Jan. 20. He will make a visit to Louisville after that, leading him to likely sign his national letter of intent on National Signing Day in February.

One factor that might affect where Clemons decides to play football next fall could be what position he will play. Although Clemons is listed as an outside linebacker, he can play multiple positions. Along with playing linebacker at Lowndes, he also lined up at safety, defensive end, wide receiver, wingback and quarterback.

“A lot of people ask me (what I am going to play),” Clemons said. “I haven’t really figured it out, myself. You know, we ran the Wing-T, so we didn’t really throw the ball much on offense. So I really had to make a living on defense. So it is really hard to tell, because I love hitting on defense, but I also like having the ball in my hands.”

Clemons finished the 2011 season — which ended back on Oct. 18, when the Vikings fell to Grayson in the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs — with 117 tackles, five of which went for loss, while also recording a team-high three interceptions.

Offensively, Clemons hauled in 17 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 172 yards and three more scores.

“I felt like I had an all right year,” Clemons said. “But, I feel like our team started to do better at the end of the season, as it came along. But as for tackles, our defense is set up for the success of linebackers.”

While Clemons posted a stellar senior season, his junior season was just as impressive. He finished the 2010 season with the second most tackles of any Viking (92). He also established himself as a favorite target for then-quarterback Cole Parker, recording a team-high 21 receptions for 425 yards and five touchdowns.