CLEMSON — Whenever Clemson decides to expand the board at running back for the 2027 class, Andrew Beard is certainly a candidate to snag an offer.
The four-star back, out of Prince Avenue Christian, has now visited Clemson several times, with the most recent trip coming for the season-opener against LSU.
Beard also visited for a game last season, but the environment on this most recent visit was on another level.
“Really just the atmosphere,” Beard told The Clemson Insider. “I had never been to a big Clemson game. I went to a smaller one last year, so I didn’t really get to see all the tailgating and how crazy the fans really get inside of the stadium.”
Beard got to spend some time with running backs coach CJ Spiller before and after the game. He also got some time with assistant Andrew Zow.
“How the coaches really interact with the players outside of the game,” Beard said. “Before the game, they were big on just building a relationship with me. I spent a good bit of time with coach Spiller and coach Zow before the game, and then a little bit with coach Spiller after the game in the locker room.”
The message was simple.
“Just keeping me getting used to getting back to Clemson,” Beard said. “Trying to make me want to keep coming back.”
To this point, in-state back Tre Segarra is the only player at the position in the 2027 class to hold an offer from the Tigers. However, Beard said the way Clemson is recruiting him, it feels like he has one, too. At the same time, at some point in the future, he’s hoping the staff makes it official.
“It definitely feels like that. They are still trying hard. We talk a good bit. They’ve still only offered one running back,” Beard said. “So, I’m not too big on it right now. Looking for it in the future. But it feels like I am family.”
As a sophomore, Beard racked up close to 2,900 all-purpose yards. The blue-chip talent currently has more than two dozen offers, with Clemson, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and Alabama leading the charge at this point.
Beard is really feeling the love from the Sooners right now. He was there one weekend ago, before heading to Tennessee for the Georgia game this weekend. He also plans to get to Athens later this month, and he will hit Texas and Alabama later in the season.
With him playing within spitting distance of the University of Georgia and his uncle being a former Bulldog standout in Garrison Hearst, many assume that Beard grew up rooting for the Dawgs. That is not actually the case.
“I actually grew up a Notre Dame fan,” he said. “I haven’t always lived in Athens. I just moved here about a year ago. I watched Rudy when I was real young, and I was a Notre Dame fan. I went to camp up there, and it just really wasn’t what I expected it to be.”
With this current round of game day visits serving as his last before spring and official visits, Beard is looking for some specific things on these trips. One thing he is really focused on with these teams is how they use their running backs.
When it comes time to sit down and make a decision, how a team plans to use him will be a prominent factor.
“The biggest thing for me now is, like last year it was all about the atmosphere and all that, but this year is big on how they actually use their running backs,” Beard said. “Because you don’t want to go to a system where you are not going to be used the right way and the way you feel like you should be used. That is the biggest thing for me right now.”
Photo by Bart Boatwright