Clemson has really started to accumulate elite-level talent along the offensive line over the past couple of recruiting cycles.
In the Tigers 2021 recruiting class, Clemson signed 4 offensive linemen, each one of them being blue-chip prospects and Top-250 players.
Highlighting the haul is five-star tackle Tristan Leigh. The 6-foot-5, 270 pound player out of Virginia is ranked No. 13 overall in the 247 Composite and No. 4 at his position. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke with Rivals last week and said the Tigers have big plans for Leigh.
“He’s about as good a tackle prospect as you can go sign out of high school,” Swinney said. “We have big plans and high hopes for him. We just kind of just stayed consistent and just continued to hang in there with him.”
Leigh’s recruitment seemed to be all over the place throughout the last year. At one time he was considered to be a strong Clemson lean but then after the dead period was put in place, many of the experts had him pegged to go elsewhere.
“We just kind of let him go through his process,” Swinney said. “I mean we were kind of always in it. He came in on a junior day last January with his mom and they had an awesome visit so I knew we were in it, but he just wanted to go through the process.”
Swinney credits the persistence of offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell and the rest of the coaching staff for staying the course and says that in the end, the Clemson head coach thinks it all came down to where Leigh felt like he fit in best.
“Robbie Caldwell and our staff did an awesome job of just kind of just staying in touch,” Swinney said. “We just kind of hung in there with him. And he just kept going through the process. He knew he liked us but I think he was really kind of excited about the process that he was going through. Then when it really got serious, I think he kind of circled back to Clemson and we were kind of right here and when it became decision time, you know this was the best thing for him.”
