CLEMSON – One of the best offensive linemen in the 2026 recruiting class is set to make his first visit to Clemson.

4-star Zaden Krempin, out of Prosper High School (Prosper, TX), has admired Dabo Swinney’s program from afar. He recently told his recruiting coordinator at his high school that he’d love to learn more about Clemson and meet offensive line coach Matt Luke. About two weeks later, Luke was flying out to have lunch with Krempin and his parents.

“I’ve been talking to my recruiting coordinator at Prosper and I was like if Clemson can come down here and I can meet the o-line coach, that would be somewhere I would definitely want to come check out and go see their facilities and everything,” Krempin told The Clemson Insider.

The family got to spend about 90 minutes with Luke and by the time the lunch was over, Krempin was locked in for the Elite Retreat, scheduled for the weekend of March 8.

“He was just explaining his family and where he’s been,” Krempin added. “Just how Clemson’s different. And to be honest, I really liked it. I like how the head coach — how they do everything differently over there. It was good. A good little bit of time getting to know him.”

Krempin’s interest was first piqued after a friend of his told him about a visit he took to Clemson. That friend, 2024 4-star OL Max Anderson, would eventually end up at Tennessee, but thought Krempin would really like Clemson.

Krempin then started watching some of the social media videos the Tigers put out, including the popular Clemson Football: The Vlog series.

“I watched the YouTube videos,” Krempin said. “I’ll be honest, after watching their Clemson Vlog thing, I was like, ‘Man, this is pretty cool.’ They do stuff in the Lord and they seem very blessed. That’s very interesting I think. That’s the way I’ve been raised by my family.”

One of the biggest things that attracts Krempin is the way Swinney runs his program. The head coach has never been shy about his faith and that resonates loudly with the blue-chip talent. In fact, that is the type of thing Krempin believes more recruits should be looking for.

“I think everybody should be doing that,” he said. “I’m looking to be there for the next three or four years of my life. I don’t want to transfer anywhere. I want to go somewhere I’m locked in and I think Clemson could be possibly a place that can be that and support that.”

Being developed by Luke is also extremely intriguing.

“I’m not chasing money, I’m chasing somewhere I can get developed,” Krempin said. “Because my goal is to be a first-rounder. And coach Luke, he showed us his stats and all the guys he’s developed and his story and everything. He’s an incredible guy, dad and everything. It’s very catching to the eyes. That’s why we got some dates scheduled to go check it out. I’m very excited.”

While Clemson is really just getting started with Krempin, this feels like a recruitment Luke can win. However, it won’t be easy.

Krempin is one of the more heavily sought-after offensive linemen in the country. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound prospect has well over 40 offers, with some of the top programs in the country in pursuit. Rivals ranks him No. 140 overall and No. 15 among all 2026 tackle prospects. He also ranks No. 16 in the state of Texas.

LSU, Texas A&M, Texas, Michigan, SMU, Oregon and Florida State are some of the other schools that are legitimate contenders.

Krempin heads to Austin for a Junior Day at Texas on Saturday. SMU is also set to get a visit soon. He is also planning to take official visits in June to SMU, LSU and Michigan.

However, Clemson is in it. Even if they’ve not offered yet. The Tigers won’t generally offer a player that hasn’t visited. But that box will be checked come March.

“If I go there and I really like everybody, and I really like their strength program… and I already like coach Luke. He impressed my family and myself a lot (Thursday),” Krempin said. “I hope I made a pretty good impression on him too. But I think if I go there and they offer me, it’s going to be hard to probably say no. I’m a yes guy. But we’ll see. If that’s God’s plan, if that’s the future, we don’t know.”

Photo courtesy of Zaden Krempin on X (formerly known as Twitter)