With Clemson’s committed early enrollees getting set to arrive on campus next month, with National Signing Day just two months away and with his official visit only three weeks away, the fact that he will be at Clemson full-time in the not-too-distant future is starting to sink in for Clemson commitment Matt Bockhorst.

“It’s a very exciting time,” Bockhorst said in a recent interview with The Clemson Insider. “Things are definitely starting to become real now.”

The Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier four-star offensive lineman will make his official from Jan. 13-15 with the rest of Clemson’s pledges that aren’t enrolling early.

Bockhorst is looking forward to catching up with the people he will see a lot of over the coming years as well as discussing the foreseeable future with offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell.

“The thing I’m most looking forward to is really spending time with the coaching staff and players,” Bockhorst said. “Another thing I’m excited for is talking to coach Caldwell in depth about his plans for me upcoming and how the next year is going to look.

“One of the most frequent questions I am asked is whether or not I will redshirt considering my injury. With the position I play and my injury, I can only assume that I will redshirt, but that is one of the questions I’ll be asking.”

Bockhorst suffered a tear of his ACL and meniscus during The Opening Finals training camp and competition in July. The 6-foot-5, 300-pounder said his knee is feeling good and his rehab is progressing well.

“It’s feeling good,” he said. “I’m moving along in my recovery, running at 75-percent bodyweight now, so I’m slowing but surely getting back.”

What’s the next step for him?

“My next step in the process would be to start running at 100-percent bodyweight, which should be happening relatively soon,” Bockhorst said. “Moving forward, I will be working on multi-directional training and things like that. I’m not quite sure of the ultimate timeline, but I do know the final stage in my recovery is function training that will get me back into football.”

“It’s a long, meticulous process,” he added, “but I’m just taking it one step at a time.”

Like anybody, Bockhorst would like to come in and play right away. But he is open to a potential redshirt and knows it could be beneficial in the long run.

“Obviously I’d love to get a shot at playing as early as possible, but I know a redshirt year would allow me to study the system, get stronger and be successful academically. There’s pros and cons to both situations, so I’m not really worried about how things play out.”

One thing Bockhorst knows for certain is there will be no shortage of talent around him at Clemson with the way the Tigers are recruiting.

Clemson’s 2017 class currently ranks 11th in the country according to Rivals and 10th nationally according to 247Sports, while the 2018 class picked up a commitment from the nation’s No. 1 player last Thursday in Cartersville (Ga.) five-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

“Clemson is recruiting at a high level at all positions,” Bockhorst said, “and that goes to show that top-level guys everywhere are recognizing how special of a program it really is in all facets, not just on the field.”

Soon, the stars by Bockhorst’s name will go away, and he will have to earn his stripes again once he gets to Clemson.

That’s something he can’t wait to do.

“Before I know it I’ll be strapping up,” Bockhorst said, “and I’m ready for the challenge.”