Last week, Vandegrift High School (Austin, TX.) four-star offensive lineman Ian Reed announced that he would be on campus from April 8-to 9 for an unofficial visit and Clemson’s spring game.
Reed — a 6-foot-6, 305-pound junior — spoke with The Clemson Insider earlier this week about his upcoming trip to Clemson and what he’s been hearing from the Tigers’ coaching staff as of late.
“They contacted me and all that,” Reed said. “They are very interested in me coming up there. Clemson’s been on my radar for a while, so, of course, why not? And, I’m really excited to go up there. It all came together.”
Reed told us that he’s looking forward to seeing the spring game at Clemson, the culture, how the coaches teach and what their philosophy is.
“I’m just really excited to meet the staff and I’m very excited to see Clemson and their athletes play,” he said.
Both Robbie Caldwell, who now serves as Clemson’s director of high school relations, and offensive line coach Thomas Austin reached out to Reed.
“It was their first time reaching out a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been talking to them here and there,” Reed said. “We’re just getting to know each other and talking about what they like about me and all that. They really want me to come up there and experience Clemson.”
According to Reed, Clemson likes that he’s very versatile — he can play anywhere inside or out, including both guard positions and tackle positions. Additionally, they think that Reed has “pretty great length” and “really great athleticism,” he said. They also like his intelligence for the game and how he can put people in the dirt.
Reed describes himself as athletic with quick feet. He’s got a good knowledge of the game and he has a mauler mentality. He just likes getting after it and loves to compete.
He previously mentioned that Clemson’s been on his radar for a while now, so the big-time offensive lineman out of the Lone Star State was pretty happy when the Tigers finally reached out.
“Clemson’s up there in my recruiting wish list and my college wish list too,” Reed said. “I’ve been watching Clemson before Dabo (Swinney) came in and started winning all those National Championships. I just really like how they’ve played and I really like how their culture’s set up.”
Reed doesn’t have a previous connection to the program. One day, he just turned on the TV and watched Clemson play. The rest is history and he’s followed the program closely ever since.
“I watched them when Coach Austin played in 2008 and 2010,” Reed said. “I told him that and they were like, ‘That’s awesome!’ I’m really excited and looking forward to meeting him.”
Reed mentions schools like Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Michigan State and Ohio State as the schools that are currently standing out in his recruitment, in addition to Clemson.
He visited Texas A&M this past Monday, he’ll be visiting Texas this Saturday and two weeks from now, Reed will obviously be at Clemson and Ohio State. Previously, he visited Texas in January and TCU in December 2021.
— Photo courtesy of Ian Reed’s social media: @ian._reed on Instagram
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