The defending national champs dispensed an offer this week to a rapidly rising four-star defensive tackle with over 30 of them.

Raleigh (N.C.) Sanderson’s Alim McNeill, whose recruitment has been on a steady upswing since the beginning of this year, was informed of the offer from Clemson by his coach on Monday.

He spoke more about it with area recruiter Robbie Caldwell and defensive coordinator Brent Venables that night.

“I was stoked about it,” McNeill told The Clemson Insider. “It was great. Everything is great there. I like the coaches also.”

McNeill (6-2, 265) garnered his first offer from Boston College last June, and got his second Power Five offer from Virginia Tech in December.

He has brought in a bucketload since the calendar turned to 2017.

N.C. State, Duke and Maryland got his recruiting ball rolling in January before it picked up steam with offers from Minnesota, Florida State, Wake Forest, TCU, Michigan, Rutgers, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisville, Penn State and Arizona State among others in February.

Arkansas, Florida, Purdue, Tennessee and Kentucky followed in March, preceding the offer from Clemson.

Caldwell and Venables began communicating with McNeill when he was a sophomore.

“They like my aggressiveness, and my versatility and IQ of the game,” he said.

McNeill has visited North Carolina and N.C. State twice each this year. He also made a trip to Virginia Tech in January and trips to Florida and Florida State earlier this month.

He is scheduled to go back to Virginia Tech tomorrow, and plans to return to Clemson on April 29.

“I’m looking forward to touring the entire campus,” McNeill said.

He first experienced Clemson in the fall, when he attended the Pittsburgh game.

“It was great,” he said. “The atmosphere was terrific.”

McNeill, who plans to make his decision in December, said Clemson is “pretty high” on his list after offering.

What stands out most to him about the program?

“The intensity they bring to games, and the family they build there,” McNeill said. “They are all together as one. They are All In.”

McNeill is a two-sport star at Sanderson who also mans right field for the school’s baseball team, and he wants to continue his baseball career in college.

He is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 14 defensive tackle nationally and No. 117 overall prospect in the 2018 class.