Gavin Blanchard has visited Clemson four times since last summer.

After working out at camp last summer, the 3-star OL (Jesuit, Tampa, Fl) was back for the Florida State game and then returned for the Notre Dame game.

The last time the 2025 recruit was in town was for the Elite Retreat back in January, which was the first time he was able to meet OL coach Matt Luke.

“It was a great time, I always have a great time when I am over there,” Blanchard told The Clemson Insider. “It’s just the people and the way they treat you. It was a good time getting to meet the coaches, That was my first time meeting coach Luke in person, so that was a good thing.”

And that first face-to-face interaction with Luke left an impression, as he is now hearing from the assistant on an almost daily basis.

“Coach Luke is a great man, first and foremost,” Blanchard said. “Very caring, which shows he is a great man. Second of all, he’s very enthusiastic. The way he talks to us or the way he talks to the recruits, very enthusiastic. Then what you see on the field. He’s always jumping around. He’s always doing something. Very enthusiastic because he cares.”

Georgia Tech, Indiana, Louisville, Miami, Pitt and TCU are among his more than a dozen offers. While he has yet to nab one from Clemson, the possibility is there, and it’s one he is doing is best to earn.

“It would mean mean a lot just for the fact that it means that I earned it,” Blanchard said. “I think that’s the beauty of the way that they do things. If you can get an offer from them it’s not just a normal offer. You have to earn your way. That’s what it would mean, especially because I’m so close to everybody over there.”

UCF and South Florida both got multiple visits this spring. Miami got a visit and Blanchard was also planning to get to Ole Miss.

He is currently in discussions with Luke about the possibility of attending the big official visit weekend that begins on May 31, and it’s the Clemson culture that keeps attracting him back.

“With Clemson, it’s just the environment,” Blanchard said. “When you go to certain schools on visits, sometimes you could feel it feels a little bit off. Maybe it’s people that aren’t really genuine or that are in it for themselves… just along those lines. It just doesn’t feel right. At Clemson, the energy is always there. Always seems legit. It’s just such a good place.”

While some high school recruits might be put off by the fact that they have to put in the work to earn an offer from the Tigers, that isn’t how Blanchard sees things. He has great respect for the way Dabo Swinney runs the program and he is as determined now as he’s always been.

“That doesn’t really hurt anything,” Blanchard said. “I mean, at the end of the day, they’re trying to figure out the right pieces and they’re still trying to figure out if I’m right.”