One of the top quarterbacks in the next recruiting class made his return to Clemson late last week.

2027 four-star Trent Seaborn (Thompson, AL) returned for the first time in more than a year, spending most of the day on campus last Friday.

Seaborn arrived in time to have lunch with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and assistant quarterbacks coach Tajh Boyd. After that, he went and sat in on position meetings ahead of that afternoon’s practice.

“They spent every chance they could get talking to me and just really getting to know them better,” Seaborn told The Clemson Insider. “Overall, it was just great. How much they made me feel like a priority. They really made me feel wanted.”

The last time Seaborn visited, in January of 2024, Dabo Swinney was not present, meaning this trip afforded the young signal caller his first opportunity to meet the head coach.

“It was great,” Seaborn said. We didn’t get to actually sit down in his office, that type of thing, but we still got to have a few minutes and talk with him. He’s from Pelham, which is literally the next town over from where I live right now. So he’s got a lot of deep roots with where I’m from.”

Swinney is also close with Seaborn’s head coach at Thompson, Mark Freeman.

“He’s really close friends with Coach Freeman, so both coach Freeman’s program and his program are very similar,” Seaborn added. “I really love that about him. The way they run things there is super similar to the way we run things here at Thompson. It just felt so comfortable being around him and being around that program, too.”

Seaborn has long maintained that the program at Thompson is similar to the one at Clemson, especially in how they’re run. Now he’s seen that the practices at both schools also have a lot of similarities.

He also got to see how Swinney interacts with the players, as well as Riley’s approach with the quarterbacks.

“Coach Riley, he’s right behind the quarterbacks the whole time. Asking them what did they see on each play,” Seaborn said. Then also in their individual drills, giving them stuff to really emphasize. Coach Swinney’s energy throughout all of practice, and even in the meetings before practice, I could tell he really has a love for these players, and love for the game too. I really love that.”

Seaborn is considered one of the Top 100 players in the 2027 class and one of the ten best quarterbacks. That makes him one of the most heavily sought-after players in his class. The blue-chip talent only solidified his status as one of the top 2027 quarterbacks by taking home the QB MVP Award at a recent Under Armor event in Atlanta.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound signal caller already has more than two dozen offers, including Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee.

While the Tigers won’t start offering players in his class until the summer, Seaborn already knows he’s a priority for Clemson and Swinney’s program should be a major player in his recruitment. He’s also hoping to get back to campus in the summer and work out at a session of Swinney’s high school camp.

“No doubt, they really make me feel special up there,” Seaborn said. “And I really love them a lot too.”

Photo courtesy of Trent Seaborn on X (formerly known as Twitter) @TrentSeaborn