Before the bye week, Clemson played host to one of its top offensive line targets in the 2027 recruiting class.

Four-star Peyton Miller (Anna, TX) made his first game day visit, attending the Tigers’ 34-21 loss to Syracuse. Miller’s first trip to campus came back in the summer when he earned an offer after an impressive workout at camp.

While that initial visit was a good one, this trip afforded Miller to see the program from a different side. Living in Texas and the game starting at noon, he and his family didn’t arrive until the game was already in the second quarter.

“It was great,” Miller told The Clemson Insider. “Even though they lost, you can clearly tell those guys at Clemson really do care. Even though they are on an unusual path this year, you could just tell that coach Swinney, those coaches and those guys really do believe in their selves and their teammates and the program.”

After the Tigers dropped the opener to LSU, struggled the following week against Troy, and then lost again on the road at Georgia Tech, Miller was questioning whether Clemson was still a realistic option. However, he was still intent on following through with the visit, and despite the team losing a third game, this one to Syracuse while he was in attendance, what he saw in the locker room put Dabo Swinney’s team right back into the thick of it.

“It did at first,” Miller said. “After the first couple of weeks, I saw them lose to LSU, lose to Georgia Tech, and saw when they were down against Troy. I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if they can do this.’ But going up there for this game day visit, you could tell that even if they lose, that team cares so much. I have no doubt they will turn it around. Even if it is a bad season this year. I really don’t see it as a negative. Being able to see it really put no doubt in my mind that they won’t turn it around, and it was important for me to see that as a recruit.”

What he saw was a group of players who care so much, they allowed their emotions to be on full display.

“When they were in that locker room, you could tell that they really do care,” Miller said. “There were guys in there who were crying. They want to win so bad. You can tell they want to win so badly as a program. That was good to see as a recruit. You want to see how guys act after they lose after a loss like that. That was important to me.”

After the game, offensive line coach Matt Luke and his wife, along with assistant offensive line coach Carson Cramer took Miller and his family to dinner, and an impression was made.

“We got to spend a lot of time together and chat it up,” Miller said. “Getting to spend more time with him is important. It was definitely a good time. He is a very down-to-earth guy. Him and his family. Everybody talks to recruits about football, football, football, but he tries to talk to you about something other than football. Gets you on a different track and in a different frame of mind. Seeing what you do outside of football, what you like to do with your family. They keep it real. In one year under him, they already have six offensive linemen committed in the 2026 class, so you can tell he is clearly doing something pretty well.”

Miller is one of the top interior linemen in the class. He ranks No. 189 in the Rivals Industry Rankings and No. 8 among all players at his position.

The 6-foot-5, 295-pound recruit has also taken game-day visits to Texas Tech and Oklahoma. This weekend, he heads to Texas A&M. After that, he has trips scheduled to Arizona State, Penn State, Texas and SMU to round out the season.

Miller doesn’t have a timeline for making a decision just yet. He’s hoping to have one made by sometime next summer, ahead of his senior season, although he wouldn’t entirely rule out one coming sooner.

For now, he’s just continuing to take visits, going through the process, and trying to find the best fit. Some of the biggest things he’s looking for are culture, coaching stability and a winning program. Seeing as he’s already won a state title as a freshman, that’s something he also wants to experience at the next level.

“Definitely the brotherhood of the team, guys I can be around every single day,” Miller said. “Just loving it there. Trust especially. Clemson is a little farther away for me, so my family being able to trust in me going off there and progressing as a man. Then, I would say coach stability. That wouldn’t be a problem with coach Swinney because he has had such great success. And coach Matt Luke, they seem pretty stable right now.

“And growing me as a man. Everybody wants to play football professionally. That is my goal as well. But if that doesn’t pan out, somewhere I can turn into a man and live in the real world. Get a real job and have success in the real world. Then, winning. I love winning. I am from a winning program and have won a state championship here in Texas. My culture is really heavy on winning. That is a big point for me. I don’t want to go to a school and lose. Contending for a national championship every year is my goal.”

One thing he does know for certain is that he will be back at Clemson, and he already knows when that visit will take place.

“They treated me and my family amazingly,” Miller said. “I can’t wait to get back for the junior day in the spring.”

Photo by Dawson Powers