A fast-rising Peach State talent made his first trip to Clemson last weekend.

2028 prospect Merrick Ham (Marietta, GA) was on hand for the Tigers’ last-minute loss to Duke, calling it one of his best visits to date.

“It was one of my favorites for sure,” Ham told The Clemson Insider. “The indoor was one of the best that I have seen, so that was pretty cool. The coolest part was the family feel. They were talking about PAW Journey and how that has been set up for student-athletes. Of everywhere else that I have been, that was the first one that had a program like that.”

One recruiting service lists Ham as a tight end, while another lists him as a defensive end. During his Clemson visit, he spent most of his time with defensive tackles coach Nick Eason.

“His feel was great, just the way he spoke about Coach Swinney was awesome,” Ham said. “He is a great guy. He was speaking about the program. He got in front of all of the recruits to talk. He was also telling me about the family atmosphere at Clemson. That was one of the big selling points when he spoke to me personally. My high school is like that. I am sure a lot of high schools are, but it seems like when you get to the college level, some of that starts to slip away a little bit. So that was an attractive point for sure.”

Living in Georgia, Ham is pretty familiar with the history at Clemson. He saw the Tigers make six straight trips to the College Football Playoff and win two national titles. He saw the program return to the playoff last season.

He is now witnessing what looks to be the worst season to date under Dabo Swinney, but that hasn’t really changed his view of the program.

“Not really. They are definitely having a down year,” Ham said. “To me, it looks like the structure of the program is still there. Down years happen. They are going to bounce back.”

Virginia Tech, Georgia, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and Indiana have all gotten game-day visits. Right now, Ham has no other trips scheduled for this season, but said he might try and get to Ohio State or Tennessee.

Duke, Indiana, Wake Forest and Vanderbilt are some of the schools to have already offered. Clemson won’t start offering players in Ham’s class until the summer.

The Tigers’ process was something Ham wasn’t aware of at first. When the staff originally told him Clemson doesn’t offer high school freshmen or sophomores, he was surprised. However, after having some time to think about it, he understands it better and actually respects it.

“When they said that originally, I was kind of taken aback by it,” Ham said. “Every other school is different, but I think it speaks to how they are holding to their principles and standing strong on that. The more I thought about it, it is kind of a selling point. They are not going to just throw you an offer and then not recruit you. If they are going to offer, they want you there.”