A versatile athlete from the Tar Heel State, who figures to be one of the top recruits in his class, made his first trip to Tiger Town last month.

Northwood High School (Pittsboro, N.C.) two-way standout Gus Ritchey traveled to Clemson for the Miami game on Nov. 19.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound sophomore in the class of 2025 – who has already collected double-digit scholarship offers – came away very impressed after the visit.

“It was unbelievable!” Ritchey told The Clemson Insider. “This was my first visit to Clemson, and I was blown away. What really stood out was the facilities and the coaching staff. You can tell they have put a lot of effort into making the facilities a great place for the players as well as the coaches. It was cool to see the coaches’ families there. You can tell they really stress family.”

The highlight of the gameday experience for Ritchey was getting an up-close look at Clemson’s famous pregame tradition, with Dabo Swinney and his team running down the hill before the Tigers’ eventual 40-10 win over the Hurricanes.

“The best part of the trip was being down there to watch the players come down the hill. I loved that!” he said. “Seeing how much fun Coach Swinney was having during pregame was amazing! It’s easy to see why players love to play for him.”

Ritchey’s father accompanied him on the visit, as did Ritchey’s girlfriend.

“She was really excited to see the stadium and loved how much the fans were into the game,” he said. “That’s a great fan base. My dad knows how great the school is, and he is a big fan of the coaches. He loved it.”

Ritchey plays on both sides of the ball at Northwood, lining up at defensive end and tight end. While a lot of schools like him coming off the edge on defense, a bunch of schools like him at both positions.

Clemson is looking at him as a tight end, and while on campus, Ritchey spoke with a few staffers including tight ends coach/passing game coordinator Kyle Richardson.

“Coach Richardson really knows how to develop tight ends, so it was great to speak with him,” Ritchey said. “He wants to come up to North Carolina to see me in January and then have me back down after that. His main message was that they like toughness out of their tight ends, and you can definitely see that in the way they play. That suits me because I love to block and be physical. It’s something that I really started to take a lot of pride in this year and improved on.”

Among Ritchey’s offers are power conference opportunities to play at Duke, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Virginia Tech and Washington.

“Duke, Virginia Tech, UNC and Oregon are all really great schools that I’m excited about,” he said when asked if any schools are standing out to him at this early stage of his recruiting process. “I’ve visited Duke a lot and really love the staff there. This summer will be a busy one though, and I’m sure I will have a really good idea of my top few schools after the summer is over.”

Clemson could certainly emerge as a strong contender in Ritchey’s recruitment, should the Tigers pull the trigger on an offer down the road.

“Now that I’ve visited Clemson and talked to the coaches, I’m really excited about getting back there as much as possible,” he said. “They are definitely one of those dream schools that I can easily see myself fitting into. It’s exciting to think about. Getting an offer would mean the world to me. I actually think it’s a perfect fit.”

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