The Clemson Insider recently caught up with one of Clemson’s top offensive line targets in the 2023 class to get the latest on his recruitment and where things stand with the Tigers at this point in the process.

Reagan High School (Pfafftown, N.C.) four-star Sam Pendleton has continued to communicate frequently with Clemson since he was on campus in late January for the Tigers’ elite junior day.

“Clemson was a really great visit,” Pendleton said. “I got to have some really great opportunities to talk to (offensive line) coach (Thomas) Austin and talk with coach (Dabo) Swinney a little bit about how I fit in the program and just talk ball a little bit. Ever since I’ve gotten back, it’s just phone calls and FaceTimes and really just been keeping in contact pretty well.”

Pendleton (6-5, 295) speaks primarily with Austin, but hears from Swinney occasionally as well.

How is his bond with the Tigers developing, and what’s their message to him?

“I feel like our relationship has gotten better and better as time goes on,” he said. “I get a lot of mail from them. I get a lot of text messages, lots of phone calls. They’re always keeping me in the loop, always texting me every week, if not every other day. So, I feel like our relationship is really on the upswing right now.

“With regards to hearing stuff from them, we just continue to talk about how I’d fit into the program and what would happen when I get there, if that were what I pursue, what they could do for me in terms of as a human and as a ballplayer, just stuff like that.”

Both Swinney and Austin have made a great impression on Pendleton, who received an offer from Clemson this past January.

“I really like and have a lot of respect for Coach Swinney. I have a lot of respect for Coach Austin,” he said. “Coach Swinney’s obviously a veteran to the game. He does a really great job in all aspects. He’s a really great recruiter, which he doesn’t really have to be, because it’s Dabo Swinney.”

Naturally, it took some time for Pendleton to get to know Austin after he took over for Robbie Caldwell as Clemson’s new O-line coach earlier this year, but Pendleton said their relationship is “definitely getting better.”

“Their work with his transitioning, it was a little tough to kind of have a relationship,” he added. “But now lately once he’s finally been in a concrete position for a while, gotten his feet under him, he’s been a lot more intentional about relationships and building a bond between his recruits.”

On Feb. 1, Pendleton dropped a top five featuring Clemson along with Michigan, NC State, Penn State and Virginia Tech, while Miami, Florida and Tennessee are among other schools on his list of around two dozen offers that he said are showing a lot of interest.

In addition to Clemson, Pendleton has been to Michigan, North Carolina, NC State, Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia Tech this year. He received an offer from Notre Dame two weeks ago and was planning to visit South Bend soon.

What’s the next step for Pendleton in his recruiting process?

“I’m probably going to take these visits in the spring, really sink into it and figure out where I stand with certain schools, and go from there,” he said.

Where does Clemson stand with him right now?

“They sit pretty well with me,” he said. “I definitely have felt a lot of love from them but there’s some other schools that are really starting to climb up for me, starting to match that Clemson energy right now.”

Pendleton is ranked by Rivals as the No. 21 offensive tackle and No. 239 overall prospect in the country for the 2023 class.

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