CLEMSON — Carter Jones has yet to enter his junior year of high school, but has quickly become one of the more heavily pursued offensive linemen in the 2027 class.
The four-star talent, out of Poquoson (VA), already has more than two dozen offers, including Georgia, Florida State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and South Carolina. However, there’s been one offer that’s been missing from that list — Clemson.
Jones has been working diligently to add that offer, knowing they would start going out to players in his class until this week. He’s been open about that being a goal of his. He worked out at camp last year, getting in front of Matt Luke for the first time, and returned to camp once again on Wednesday, determined to leave with that coveted offer.
After camp concluded, Jones met with head coach Dabo Swinney, and by the time that meeting was over, he had his offer.
“I was very excited just because I’ve been working for that offer for a long time,” Jones told The Clemson Insider. “Because that’s been my team for a while, so that meant a lot to me.”
“We went into coach Swinney’s office, and we sat down. We were talking with him, and he told me they don’t offer many people early, and they don’t offer many people at all. Then he said, ‘But you check all the boxes for us, and we’re going to offer you a scholarship.'”
While Jones was always confident in his abilities, he also began this process knowing how selective the Tigers are when it comes to offering high school recruits. For example, the 2027 offers started going out on Sunday, and Clemson has still only offered five offensive linemen.
“I was a little surprised,” Jones said. “Because I know how hard it is to get an offer from Clemson and how much research they do into the people they offer. They want to make sure they make the right decision. They definitely do a lot of research.”
“They really love my family. Love me as a football player and as a person.”
What keeps drawing him back? The culture. Like may other recruits, the atmosphere Swinney has created inside the program really resonates. Add in the fact that Jones has an uncle, Glenn Rountree, an offensive lineman who starred for the Tigers back in the 1990s, and there are many things that make Clemson attractive.
“I just really love the people there,” he said. “I’ve always really liked coach Matt Luke, and I really like coach Swinney. Every time I get to pick up a little bit more information about Clemson. You pick things up as you keep going. I really like their culture. I got to meet coach Swinney’s son, Will, and I really enjoyed talking with him. I think just everyone there is… they’re all great people.”
Then there is Luke, a coach whom Jones really admires. Not just as a coach, but also as a person.
“He was the first coach to ever take an interest in me,” Jones said. “He just said, ‘When you see it, you see it,’ and ‘I know when I know.'”
“He is intense, but he is a person you really respect and want to work for. Some coaches are yelling and screaming, but coach Luke actually coaches you and keeps his cool. He’s just kind of mastered it, to be honest.”
His appearance at camp marked Jones’ sixth time on campus. He also plans to camp at Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Ole Miss, Alabama and Florida, as he continues to go through the recruiting process.
Jones also talked about possibly committing as early as next March, and as of right now, there’s Clemson, and then there’s everyone else.
“They are at the top of the top of the list.”