Among the class of 2025 offensive linemen with an offer from Clemson is this Tigers legacy who has seen his recruitment take off this year.

Central High School (Phenix City, Ala.) rising junior Mal Waldrep received his offer from Clemson when he camped with the program back on June 1.

“During lunchtime in between (camp) sessions, (offensive line) coach (Thomas) Austin pulled me into his office and told me I have an offer from Clemson,” Waldrep said, reflecting on the offer in an interview with The Clemson Insider. “It was really a special feeling considering not just anyone in the country can earn an offer from Clemson. They make it clear that they choose guys who can really ball and are a great fit for their program.”

Making the offer from the Tigers even more special for Waldrep, and his family, is the fact he has a tie to Clemson – his grandfather, Joe Waldrep, was a linebacker under legendary Clemson coach Frank Howard in the 1960s.

“Everyone was fired up. My grandfather was very thrilled to hear the news,” Mal said. “My parents also enjoyed coming up and experiencing Clemson and seeing what they had to offer in their program.”

Clemson’s staff is high on the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder and what he could potentially bring to the program in the future.

“They think I have great feet and a great mindset,” he said. “They think I can be a leader on the team.”

Waldrep has also camped at a few other schools this summer, and while those camps all went well for him, he noted that “overall I felt like Clemson was the best camp for me to get better as a player.”

“Clemson’s camp was simple. We worked on football, and just football, no combine testing or anything like that,” he explained. “We had so much time to just work on what we needed to work on and learn what we needed to fix, and that’s the best thing you could ask for in a camp.”

Waldrep’s offer list has grown rapidly in 2023 and he has now racked up more than a dozen total offers. Georgia most recently offered him last month, while schools such as Florida State, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Kentucky and Colorado have all offered him since the turn of the calendar year as well. Penn State pulled the trigger on his first Power Five offer in April 2022.

Where does Clemson stand with him right now after extending an offer?

“Clemson is definitely up there in my top mix for sure,” he said.

Waldrep added he is “definitely” planning to return to Clemson for a game this fall.

–Photo courtesy of Mal Waldrep on Twitter (@WaldrepMal)

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