The Clemson Insider recently caught up with one of Clemson’s priority offensive line targets in the 2023 recruiting class who has held an offer from the Tigers since June 2021.
Monroe Freeling, a four-star offensive lineman out of Oceanside Collegiate Academy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), gave the latest on his recruitment and where Clemson currently stands in the mix of everything.
Freeling made his way to campus for Clemson’s second junior day of the year on Saturday, March 5.
“It was my first time up there since Coach (Tony) Elliott left and the whole coaching staff change,” he said. “From a first-day-of-practice standpoint, that was my first actual practice, so it was hard for me to take a look and see where they’ve come. I like the environment that’s being created at the moment and seeing Coach (Thomas) Austin coach is pretty cool.”
What did he hear from Clemson’s coaching staff while he was back on campus?
“They kind of just treated me like I’ve been there,” Freeling said. “It was really just catching up and feeling like I was back up there once again like it was no big deal.”
Every time he hears from Clemson, the Tigers always make sure to reinforce that he’s a priority for them in this recruiting class.
Freeling had a chance to sit in on some of Clemson’s offensive line meetings and he was able to understand what was going on because his offensive line coach at Oceanside coached in college. A lot of the terminology is pretty similar, so he feels like he could pick up on everything pretty quickly.
It was hard for Freeling to get up in the practice because they were bouncing all around, but what he can remember from participating in the Dabo Swinney Camp this past summer is that he was really only getting coached by Austin. Needless to say, he’s a fan of Clemson’s newly-minted offensive line coach’s coaching style.
As far as his recruitment is concerned, it’s hard for Freeling to say that he can make a decision soon. However, he does know that when he does make a decision and even when he starts to narrow down his list, Clemson is going to be there for a while.
Because of the ever-changing coaching landscape in college football, it sounds like Freeling wants to see how the coaching changes are impacted at the schools he’s considering throughout the season and evaluate his options from there.
When Freeling knows what school he wants to go to, he’ll make his decision. He doesn’t want to rush anything and make a mistake that he’ll regret.
Where does Clemson currently stand in his recruitment?
“Clemson’s there,” he said. “I like Clemson. I like the culture they have there and the energy they create. I mean, they’re there for sure.”
Freeling estimates that he’ll be back on campus this summer.
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