An elite edge rusher from the state of Alabama made his return visit to Clemson’s campus this past weekend and left with an offer in hand.
Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.) 2023 four-star Hunter Osborne attended the Tigers’ second junior day of the year — their “spring elite day” — this past Saturday and came away from the visit just blown away from the visit and everything Clemson had to offer.
“It was amazing, to be honest with you,” Osborne told The Clemson Insider. “It exceeded my expectations. It caught me by surprise, just the family environment. Every single coach there, everyone was just so genuine. I truly enjoyed myself.”
Osborne’s favorite part of the visit was definitely getting to see the whole campus and getting to spend time with the coaching staff. Osborne liked Nick Eason when he was at Auburn, so it felt good to rekindle that relationship now that the defensive tackles coach is at Clemson.
He also got to spend some time with Lemanski Hall and Dabo Swinney, who were both present when the Tigers pulled the trigger on a scholarship offer.
“It was a blessing,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie, I was very shocked because it was like in the moment. Coach Hall told me that he wanted to offer me and I was just listening to Coach Swinney talk the whole time and just listening to Coach Eason and Coach Hall and everyone’s philosophy. I was just excited and I still am. I already can’t wait to get back up there.”
“It felt great because Clemson doesn’t offer that many guys every single year,” Osborne added. “For them to trust me enough, to offer me as a player and as a person, it felt great.”
Well into the next day, Osborne was still thinking about being offered by the Tigers. It hadn’t left his mind and he isn’t so sure when it will.
Things have come full circle for Osborne. He participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp this past summer and was pretty sure the coaching staff didn’t know who he was.
Things have, of course, changed since then, as Osborne is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country with just about every offer you can think of and Clemson has become one of the top schools in his recruitment
“I don’t know the exact spot, but they’re some of the best of the best in my recruitment,” he said. “I don’t want to put an exact number because anything can happen, anything can change, but they’re definitely up there.”
Shortly after his Clemson visit, Osborne took to Twitter to announce that he will be dropping his top-10 schools come Monday, March 14. The Tigers will presumably make the cut after helping themselves this past weekend.
While Osborne had obviously been coached up by Hall before when he camped at Clemson, he got to see Clemson’s defensive ends coach and Eason first-hand at practice on Saturday. He was certainly a fan of what he
“Oh, definitely,” Osborne said. “The way that they coach, the style that they coach, what they teach and what they’re coaching, I can definitely see myself fitting into their scheme.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
