Rising 2026 Offensive Lineman Impressed By Clemson After First Visit

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers are going after a rising 2026 offensive lineman, and it sounds like they impressed him after his first visit to campus.

The logo of the Clemson Tigers is seen on a football helmet / Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Right now, the majority of attention is on the official visits taking place for Clemson as they look to secure one of their best recruiting classes in a few years.

It will be a flurried close to the month of June as many of the top uncommitted players will be deciding where they're going to play college football next month.

The Tigers seems to be in good standing with those at the top of their board, but until they land a commitment and ultimately have the prospects sign, it's going to be a battle before the recruitment cycle is finalized.

While this is taking up most of the oxygen on the recruiting trail, that doesn't mean Dabo Swinney and his staff aren't working on future prospects and establishing relationships with those who have attended their camps and campus in recent weeks.

One of those is 2026 offensive lineman Grant Kitchens.

The 6-foot-8, 308-pounder is only listed by On3 out of the four main recruiting services and comes in as a three-star, but he is seen as a rising prospect and someone the Tigers want to start communicating with early.

Kitchens was on campus for the Dabo Swinney Football Camp on June 4 and came away impressed by the program.

"I liked it a lot. The campus is nice. The coaches, they were really nice to me, they welcomed me with open arms. So, it was great," he told The Clemson Insider. "It's nice. It's definitely one of the nicest places I've seen in person. Just overall, it's a nice place, really good people. I felt like I was welcomed there."

His current rating is another example of why it's hard to rely on rankings for upcoming high school juniors when looking at who is considered a "good prospect" or not.

Evaluators have routinely said the biggest jump comes during the junior year and the time period going into their senior seasons.

There's a good chance Kitchens could become a highly-ranked prospect by then.

Clemson seems to think that could be the case, despite not offering him a scholarship yet.

"Coach Luke told me that they don't really offer a lot of kids because they want to make sure that it's the right fit for them, and I understand that. So, hoping here pretty soon, within the next couple months, I'll maybe get an offer from Clemson. But I liked it a lot, and Coach Luke told me to keep working and the main thing I needed to work on is just keeping square, and other than that, I looked great," he said.

This will be one to monitor.