Brendan Hall has been attending camp at Clemson for quite some time.
The 2028 offensive lineman (South Mecklenburg, NC) is a legacy recruit, with his father, Les Hall, serving as an offensive lineman for the Tigers from 1988-92. That means he has a rather unique connection to Clemson.
Having grown up taking part in Dabo Swinney’s high school camp each summer, Hall has come to love the experience, noting that it is different from most other school camps.
“I have always been going there, so I know what their gist is,” Hall told The Clemson Insider. “I have been to multiple other camps too, so yeah, it is different. But I do like why it is different. Coach (Carson) Cramer was telling me they are not going to evaluate me on how fast I run a 40. They are going to evaluate you based off your footwork and how you play football. That is why they don’t do the combine stuff. Because they can get that stuff from other places.”
Hall saw his recruitment really take off back in the spring. NC State, Texas A&M, Duke, Missouri, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina and Virginia Tech have all jumped in with offers over the past several weeks. And after his performance while camping at Clemson, and some of the feedback he got from offensive line coach Matt Luke, he’s hoping one from the Tigers is soon to follow.
“He said I had a great day. Loved the way I finished,” Hall said. “He said there were other dudes there, with recruiting profiles like mine, and they weren’t giving as much effort. That was really good to hear from him.”
Hall was also on hand for the spring elite day in April, which was his first real recruiting trip to Clemson, outside of attending camp.
While the Tigers have yet to offer an offensive lineman in the 2028 recruiting class, those will start going out in the very near future. Clemson might be a little slower with the process, but it’s a process Hall genuinely respects.
“Obviously, they are very different. But that just means that it means something more,” he added. “I guess when Clemson offers you, they truly are seeing something in you. Like Coach Matt Luke says, ‘When we offer somebody, we want to offer an AND person, not a BUT person. He’s a great player, but… That’s not what we are looking for.’ They are looking for a player… he’s got great footwork, AND he’s a great player, AND he does this and that. Not a BUT player. And I am glad I got to be in the AND category. But, like I said, when they offer you, it truly means they are invested in you, and they really want you.”
When those offensive line offers do start going out, Hall is hoping he’s on the receiving end of one of those calls. Over the years, he’s been around enough to know an offer from Clemson carries a different kind of meaning.
“It would mean a lot because a lot of these schools, they just kind of shoot out an offer. It doesn’t truly mean something,” Hall said. “Especially a school that has hundreds of offers (out). It doesn’t truly mean, ‘hey, you are a great player, we want you.’ It doesn’t really say they are invested in you or looking to build a strong relationship right now. Looking at the demographics of Clemson’s offers, and who they have and how limited it is, when they offer you, it is a big deal. It truly shows they are invested in you. Wanting to build that strong relationship from the get-go. That tells me they are interested in me, and that is possibly a school that I would love to play for.
“Clemson has a very limited amount of guys who commit every year. That shows me you are a big priority on this team, and we want you here.”
If a game-day visit opportunity presents itself during the coming season, Hall would certainly take advantage of that.
“I would love to go see a game from the field,” he said. “I have been going to games, I mean twice a year, three times a year, I have just been going. It would truly be unbelievable for the first time to go there for the recruiting experience and not just a fan in the stands.”
With his father having played at Clemson, the 6-foot-6, 305-pounder has always dreamed of running down the hill and into Death Valley on a game day. At the same time, just because he’s a legacy recruit, that doesn’t mean he’s a lock to Clemson if an offer were to come.
Hall is intent on taking the process slow and keeping an open mind. However, make no mistake, Clemson does check a lot of the boxes regarding what he’s looking for.
“Ever since I was a little boy,” Hall said about running down the hill. “But every time a school offers me, I am always going to go in with an open mind. I am never going to be biased because I want to see what they have to offer. I am going to go to every visit completely unbiased and understand what they are offering. Because a lot of times, these schools are offering the same stuff money-wise, classes, academics, benefits and all that stuff. Nowadays, it really comes down to the people. And I had one of the best times at Clemson, recruiting-wise, with Coach Matt Luke and Coach Cramer. They are just awesome people.”