Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin was in Ohio Wednesday. It’s not the first time that the Tigers have scoured The Buckeye State for offensive line help and while Austin visited a familiar school, he wasn’t there to check in on an offensive lineman.
He was at Findlay (Oh.) High School to meet with the program’s head coach, Stefan Adams. Austin previously recruited Luke Montgomery out of Findlay, but he pledged to Ohio State earlier this year.
The elationship he built with Clemson’s offensive line coach is a strong one, so Montgomery phoned Austin to inform him of his decision before making his announcement. Austin wasn’t at Findlay for Montgomery, though. Funny enough, he was there to talk with Adams about Montgomery’s younger brother, Ryan, who is among one of the best quarterbacks in the class of 2025.
“He was just checking in,” Adams told The Clemson Insider. “Ryan’s the quarterback. I think, obviously, just showing a little bit of interest. We’ve built a good relationship on our end. I think anytime that he can get out to Ohio, I think he’d like to swing by and catch up. We have a couple of young guys as well too, that besides Ryan, can have some possibilities down the line.”
Even though he’s only a freshman, Ryan currently holds offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami (OH), Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, Tennessee and Toledo.
“I think it starts with his family, I think it starts with him as an individual,” Adams said when asked about Ryan’s makeup. “I’d like to say as we can kind of progress and move forward with our program overall, I’d like to think that people are deciding to come and see us at all levels because of the quality of people we have.
“Ryan’s a very high-cerebral young man. He’s a little more reserved, but also he’s young. I’m super excited to see what he has to build on in the future. He played as a freshman. He started every game of the year and went on to a playoff run. He did a fantastic job and had great, solid numbers in passing, touchdown and interception ratio. He’s worked extremely hard this offseason to continue to build on his skill set.”
Adams is super impressed with a kid who was 6-foot-2, 180-pounds as a freshman — which as a freshman is pretty good. Ryan has grown an inch and added 20 pounds to his frame after dedicating himself to the weight room this offseason. He’s also dedicated himself to his craft and has also gotten better as a quarterback.
“He’s really doing the job that it takes to be, not just a talented football player, but also a top-notch student-athlete,” Adams said.
With that being said, Ryan is his own person. While he has the influence and support of his older brother, he’s going to be making his own decisions, as far as his recruitment is concerned.
Though, Luke’s relationship with schools like Clemson could help open some doors for Ryan during his recruiting process.
“They all know that this is Ryan’s deal, this is Ryan’s recruitment,” Adams continued. “Luke has done a really great job of really trying to help prepare Ryan for the things that are in front of him and ultimately, I think the Clemson guys, the Clemson staff, knows that we want to continue to have options for all of our kids.
“As the journey goes on, I think the way we treat them, the way they treat us, they want to keep the door open. I think even mom and dad and the family have done a really good job of keeping things open. He’s not too good for any school. He’s definitely interested in his own path, his own recruitment. He’s looking forward to going on this journey.”
Massive day in Trojan Country! Appreciate all of you guys coming through and checking out our players. We don’t take it lightly. #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/WSEAyiHsjp
— Stefan Adams (@stefadams87) May 4, 2022
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