Aidan Leigh – Syndication Server

Local OL recruit, brother of current Tiger gives the latest

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with a current Clemson football player’s younger brother, who is on the Tigers’ radar and holds several power conference offers, to get the latest on his recruitment and much more. Pendleton (S.C.) High School …

Pendleton (S.C.) High School junior offensive tackle Aidan Leigh – whose brother, Tristan, is a freshman offensive lineman for the Tigers – feels Clemson is among the schools showing the most interest in him at this stage of his recruiting process.

“Definitely Clemson,” he said. “Coastal Carolina’s showing love, Virginia’s showing love, Cincinnati’s showing love, Maryland.”

Maryland, Florida, LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma have all extended offers to Aidan, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound prospect in the class of 2023.

During the college football regular season, Aidan traveled to check out Virginia, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina and Clemson. He made an unofficial recruiting visit to Clemson on Oct. 2, when the Tigers played Boston College.

“I enjoyed it a lot, especially like the community,” he said to TCI afterward. “It was loud, and the game itself was really good, too.”

This upcoming offseason, Aidan is looking to return to Virginia as well as visit schools like Maryland, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

He also wants to get back to Clemson and continue cultivating his relationship with the coaching staff.

“I think I really want to build a relationship person-to-person with the coaches more,” he said. “Because it’s always good to have a good relationship with the coach.”

How would Aidan characterize his relationship with Clemson right now?

“I mostly talk to [offensive line] coach [Robbie] Caldwell,” he said. “It’s really tight because my brother plays there. So, he talks to my brother about me sometimes, and I think we’re really tight. When I do get to talk to him, I like to talk to him about how my season’s going and how I’m personally doing.”

Speaking of Tristan, Aidan has heard a lot of good things from his brother about his freshman year with the Tigers.

“He loves it. He really loves it,” Aidan said. “They’re turning him into a really great player. He’s getting good minutes in the games, and it’s just really fun watching him play at the next level.”

Tristan, a former five-star prospect, enrolled at Clemson this past summer after committing to the Tigers in January. Now, it’s Aidan’s turn to figure out where he will call home for college.

At this point in the recruiting process, where do things stand with Aidan and Clemson?

“I think we have a really good relationship,” he said. “I love Clemson. I love the facility, I love the campus, I love the people there. It’s really good hospitality, and I also love the environment on a game day. So, I think they stand pretty good with me.”

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OL recruit would love to follow in brother’s footsteps at Clemson

A talented O-line prospect with a tie to Clemson was back on campus last weekend for the Boston College game. Pendleton (S.C.) High School 2023 offensive tackle Aidan Leigh – the younger brother of former five-star recruit and current Clemson …

A talented O-line prospect with a tie to Clemson was back on campus last weekend for the Boston College game.

Pendleton (S.C.) High School 2023 offensive tackle Aidan Leigh – the younger brother of former five-star recruit and current Clemson freshman offensive lineman Tristan Leigh – attended the Tigers’ 19-13 victory over the Eagles on Saturday.

The Clemson Insider caught up with Aidan, who loved taking in the atmosphere of a night game at Death Valley.

“It was crazy,” he said. “It was loud and crazy.”

Aidan was also at Clemson’s home game against Georgia Tech on Sept. 18, as well as the season opener against Georgia in Charlotte on Sept. 4, but this past Saturday marked Aidan’s first time attending a game at Death Valley this season as a recruit on an unofficial visit.

“I enjoyed it a lot, especially like the community,” he said. “It was loud, and the game itself was really good, too.”

Getting to be on the field before kickoff to watch the Tigers get ready for the game was one of the highlights of the day for Aidan.

“When you’re on the field during warmups, you really get to see all the players,” he said, “and you kind of see a different perspective of what it looks like being on the field.”

Aidan had the chance to work with Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell at the Dabo Swinney Camp this past summer, and the two were able to catch up again last Saturday.

Caldwell let the 6-foot-6, 290-pound junior know that he is keeping tabs on him.

“He said he’s been watching my film and to keep on doing good,” Aidan said. “I really like talking to him because he’s always 100 with me, and he says that he sees a lot of potential in me.”

“One, he likes my length, and he likes my feet, how fast my feet are,” Aidan added.

Aidan said he and Caldwell have developed a close relationship over time.

“I think it’s really tight,” Aidan said. “It got pretty tight when he was recruiting my brother, so when I see him it’s always all love.”

Speaking of Tristan, he is having a great experience as a student-athlete at Clemson so far during his freshman year, according to Aidan.

“He loves it. He loves it so much,” Aidan said. “He just likes how it’s like a family. They treat you really good there. They make sure you’re all mentally OK and physically OK.”

Aidan currently lists offers from Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Maryland, and figures to see more offers come his way moving forward. Right now, he is in no rush to make his college decision and wants to take more visits and explore all his options before rendering a commitment.

“I’m still trying to figure it out and kind of see all my possibilities and all the different places,” he said, “because I really want to see it in person before I make a big decision.”

Receiving an offer from Clemson in the future and having the opportunity to follow in his brother’s footsteps as a Tiger would be a dream come true for Aidan, who had the opportunity to play with Tristan at Robinson Secondary School (Fairfax, Va.) last season when Aidan was a sophomore and Tristan was a senior.

After Tristan committed to Clemson, his family decided to move to the area with him, so Aidan is now playing at Pendleton High.

“It would be crazy, having that chance,” Aidan said of possibly teaming up with Tristan again at Clemson. “Because last year me and my brother got to play together, and it was the most fun year of football I’ve ever had. So, I think it 100 percent would be insanely crazy.”

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Highly touted prospects headed to Death Valley for Clemson-Boston College game

Clemson will again play host to some top prospects for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game against Boston College in Death Valley. Here are some of the bigger names The Clemson Insider has confirmed as planned visitors for the Clemson-BC game: A couple of …

Clemson will again play host to some top prospects for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game against Boston College in Death Valley.

Here are some of the bigger names The Clemson Insider has confirmed as planned visitors for the Clemson-BC game:

A couple of headliners among the recruits expected to be in attendance are Thomspon (Alabaster, Ala.) five-star defensive lineman Peter Woods, Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) four-star defensive back Caleb Downs and Auburn (Ala.) High School four-star center Bradyn Joiner.

Woods is the No. 4 defensive lineman and No. 17 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, which also tabs Downs as the No. 2 safety. Rivals ranks Joiner as the No. 1 center in the Class of 2023.

“They care for each player like they’re family,” Downs said of Clemson to TCI last month. “Everything you do, they want you to excel. They want to be there to help you with your ups and downs. It’s just a family there.”

A big-time receiver from North Carolina is slated to be on hand for Saturday’s game as well in Hickory Ridge (Harrisburg, N.C.) four-star Christian Hamilton, the No. 15 wideout and No. 93 overall prospect in the 2023 class, per the 247Sports Composite.

Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham recently came up to Harrisburg to watch Hamilton play, now the highly-touted wide receiver prospect is returning the favor this weekend.

“What I’ve been hearing from Coach Grisham is that he thinks I’m an amazing player,” Hamilton told TCI. “He says just be patient with him because he doesn’t just throw out offers. He says (Clemson is) really, really close to offering me and also he wants me to keep in touch with him weekly.”

Among other notable Class of 2023 recruits on Clemson’s anticipated guestlist for Saturday’s contest are two Life Christain Academy (Colonial Heights, Va.) products in three-star offensive lineman Joshua Miller and four-star cornerback Antonio Cotman, Jr.

Miller picked up a Clemson offer back on Sept. 2 and is looking forward to getting back down to Tiger Town for Saturday’s marquee ACC matchup.

“I got a little bit of experience when I was there (in Charlotte), but it not really being a home game, I wasn’t able to get the full experience,” Miller told TCI earlier this month. “So, I’m excited to get down there to Clemson and actually see what an actual game day is like at their home stadium.”

As for Miller’s teammate and good friend, Cotman, he’s been feeling the love from Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed and is looking forward to seeing how the vibe is in Death Valley at Memorial Stadium, he said.

Some other marquee names that will be in attendance from the 2023 class include Sumter (S.C.) 2023 four-star defensive lineman Monteque Rhames, Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) 2023 running back Jarvis Green and Pendleton (S.C.) 2023 offensive tackle, Aidan Leigh, who is the younger brother of Clemson true freshman offensive lineman Tristan Leigh.

Another name from the 2023 class that recently informed TCI of his incoming arrival is Katy (Tex.) running back Seth Davis, who was invited to the Clemson-BC game by Tigers’ running backs coach C.J. Spiller.

Last but certainly not least is Greenville (S.C.) 2022 tight end Josh Sapp, who is the son of former Clemson and NFL linebacker Patrick Sapp. TCI caught up with the Clemson target earlier this month on stop No. 1 during this season’s edition of The Tour of Champions.

He continues to build a relationship with Clemson offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Tony Elliott.

“Really just keeping in touch and checking up on each other,” Sapp said. “He and my dad have known each other for a while, so I kind of grew up knowing. It’s really just a cool relationship with him.”

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