ACC media days have come and gone and the dog days of summer are upon us. Now, we’re just a couple of weeks from the start of preseason camp.

TheClemsonInsider continues its look back at the recruitment of several of Clemson’s returning players. Included in this Back When feature are several of the big guys from the trenches.

OL [autotag]Justin Falcinelli[/autotag] – Middletown, Md. – RS Freshman

[autotag]Clemson[/autotag] picked up Falcinelli’s commitment in July of 2013, a few weeks after he was in town for the Dabo Swinney Football Camp. His first trip to the school was in February for the Elite Junior Day event.

Boston College, Maryland, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, Virginia and West Virginia also offered Falcinelli, who was the No. 22 ranked offensive guard in the class of 2014.

OL [autotag]Taylor Hearn[/autotag], Williston, S.C. – RS Freshman

Clemson was first to offer Hearn in June of 2012, the summer before his junior season at Williston-Elko High School. The Tigers remained his only offer until UNC pulled the trigger in November.

In February of 2013, Hearn joined Clemson’s 2014 haul, which already included commitments from Deshaun Watson, Jae’lon Oglesby, Dalvin Cook and Cannon Smith. Falcinelli would eventually join Hearn as the only other offensive lineman to sign with the Tigers the following February.

A three-star, Hearn committed to Clemson just days after he was in town for the first Junior Day event of the 2013 calendar year. Before leaving campus, area recruiter Marion Hobby encouraged him to take some time in thought and prayer before reaching a final decision.

“First of all, the coaching staff, they’re very family-oriented. You can tell they care about you and want the best for you. I like how it’s a small town campus. It’s not too big. It’s not too far away from home, about three hours.”

DE [autotag]Martin Aiken[/autotag], Smoaks, S.C. – RS Junior

In June, before his senior year, Aiken made his announcement during a Sunday afternoon press conference at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School. South Carolina and Georgia Tech were the other finalists.

“I tried to look at every school I went to and compare them to Clemson. In some ways they did and in some ways they didn’t. I didn’t really know 100 percent until probably the last time I went up there. That’s when I knew for 100 percent that’s where I wanted to play football.”

OL [autotag]Tyrone Crowder[/autotag], Marston, N.C. – RS Sophomore

Clemson and Georgia were the finalists for Crowder, who went through a series of cuts before making a final decision on Signing Day. In August of 2012, Stanford and UNC were receiving consideration.

Stanford was first to go. UNC followed late in the fall. By the time Crowder showed up for the Under Armour All-American game, it was apparent that Clemson would land his commitment.

Scout listed Crowder as a four-star and ranked him as the No. 4 offensive guard in the class of 2013.