Trace Hawkins thinks so much of Clemson, he visited twice during the spring.

The four-star quarterback (Calhoun, GA) was on hand for the spring game at the end of March, then returned for the Spring Elite Day a couple of weeks later.

“First, we went to the academics, you know, academics come before football,” Hawkins told The Clemson Insider. “So we went and sat with the academic advisors and talked about how they help the players pursue stuff — not just football, but in life, too.”

Hawkins was just one of two quarterbacks at the Spring Elite Day. That gave him a lot of one-on-one time with Tajh Boyd, who Hawkins is expecting to come watch him throw at some point during the contact period.

With Boyd having a lot of experience running the Chad Morris offense, Hawkins believes the first-year quarterbacks coach is in a unique position in his new role.

“He fits the role, he is great for it,” Hawkins added. “He has been at Clemson, and he has been in the offense, so he really knows what is going on from a football perspective. He is just straight up with you, and he wants you to be a man more than a football player.”

And after learning more about Morris’ scheme, Hawkins firmly believes he has the skillset to excel in the offense.

“I feel like I can fit in their scheme really well,” he said. “With the plays they run and how they use their quarterbacks.”

As a sophomore last season, Hawkins threw for 2,442 yards with 24 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He also had three rushing touchdowns.

Rivals ranks him No. 139 overall and No. 11 among all quarterbacks in the 2028 class.

Florida State, Duke and Florida are some of the other schools standing out early. While the Seminoles have yet to offer, the other two schools have. Auburn, Indiana, SMU and Georgia Tech represent some of his other early offers.

While Clemson won’t start offering recruits in the 2027 class until June, the staff has indicated to him that he is one of the quarterbacks in line to land one. The 6-foot-1 signal caller plans to work out at camp in June in an effort to further enhance his chances.

“They say I am number one. Up top,” Hawkins said. “That (offer) would be great. I have always liked Clemson football and running down that hill. That would be special.”

And like so many others, it’s the culture inside the program that really resonates.

“The family environment,” Hawkins said. “You go there and everybody speaks to you. It is just a great place to be.”

Photo courtesy of Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider