A big Tar Heel State offensive lineman with a couple of ties to the Clemson football program returned to Tiger Town last weekend for his second visit to Death Valley this season.
After attending the Tigers’ victory over Boston College in October, Belmont (N.C.) South Point 2023 tackle Sullivan Absher was back on campus to see Clemson beat then-No. 10 Wake Forest last Saturday, 48-27.
“I was able to make it down for the Boston College game, which was a (7:30) p.m. game, so I was halfway expecting a bit of a more laid-back environment vs. Wake this week because it was a 12 p.m. kickoff, but that couldn’t be further from the truth!” Absher said to The Clemson Insider. “This game was probably even more energetic than the BC game.”
Absher, a 6-foot-7, 290-pound junior, attends South Point High School – the alma mater of former Clemson All-ACC safety Tanner Muse and current Clemson director of high school relations/special assistant to the offense Kyle Richardson.
The Muse family lives in the neighborhood next to Absher’s family, so they have been family friends for a while, and Absher knows a lot of the same people as Richardson.
Absher spent time with Richardson during Saturday’s visit, as well as offensive analyst Thomas Austin and offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell.
“The biggest thing they were speaking about is how much improvement I make from week to week and being able to adapt to different situations in games,” Absher said of what he heard from the staff. “The coaches also spoke to me about how much of a family the Clemson program is and how they’d love to get me to be a part of it.”
Absher said his second visit to Clemson this season helped him get a better feel for where he stands with the Tigers at this point in the recruiting process.
“One thing about my high school team is that we run the triple option, so we don’t block in the traditional pro-style technique,” he said. “So one thing they’ve told me to improve on is my pass blocking, which I’ve been working on with a trainer every week. So hopefully the offer comes as soon as I can showcase those pass-blocking skills.”
Absher currently owns offers from Wake Forest, North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, East Carolina and Old Dominion.
If the Tigers come calling with an offer of their own, Absher can see himself calling Clemson home in the future.
“It’d be huge to have the opportunity to be a part of such a historic program,” he said, “and now that I have some stronger relationships with some of the coaching staff, it seems like I’d fit right in.”
Absher has also made game-day visits this season to UNC, NC State, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. Saturday’s Clemson visit marked his final trip of the season, but he anticipates getting back to Clemson in the spring.
“If an opportunity comes for me to get down to Clemson, I’ll be there,” he said.
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