Trent Seaborn is still only in the tenth grade and he’s already proven that he is the utter epitome of what a winner looks like.

During his eighth-grade season, the 4-star quarterback took over as the starting quarterback at Thompson High School (Alabaster, AL) in the final game of the regular season, helping guide the Warriors to a state title.

A year later, Seaborn again led Thompson back to the state title game, only to fall two points shy of winning it all. That season, he was the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year.

Last season, Seaborn and the rest of his teammates were not going to be denied and he helped pave the way to a second state championship in three seasons.

Most quarterbacks only dream of that kind of success. Seaborn has already lived it, and one of the more impressive things about it is he still has two more seasons of high school remaining.

That success has also made him one of the most sought-after signal callers in the 2027 recruiting class. Seaborn already has close to 30 offers, with most big-boy football programs across the country showing interest. And that includes Clemson.

Seaborn is set to make his first visit to campus in more than a year on March 7, which will finally give him an opportunity to meet head coach Dabo Swinney face to face. Attending a spring practice will also give the young quarterback a chance to get an up-close look at offensive coordinator Garrett Riley’s coaching style.

“I’ve actually never met Coach Swinney before, so I’d love to get to sit down and talk with him and really get to meet him,” Seaborn told The Clemson Insider. “Because we share a lot of backstory with him, being from around my area. Obviously get to talk with Coach Riley and Coach (Tajh) Boyd again. Hopefully, get on the whiteboard, and talk some ball. Also, I’m really excited to get to see how they coach on the field. I’ve talked to them in the film room sometimes, but I’ve never actually seen them in action coaching.”

Swinney has a longstanding relationship with Thompson head coach Mark Freeman, giving the Tigers a unique connection in this recruitment.

“My head coach, Coach Freeman, is very close with Coach Swinney,” Seaborn added. “They’ve known each other for a very long time. Coach Swinney is actually from the town just next over to us, Pelham, and we’re in Alabaster. So, they have a lot of connections and I’m sure that their offenses stem from each other. I could really see myself fitting in that offense.”

Part of the reason Seaborn sees himself fitting into the offense so well is the success Cade Klubnik experienced last season. Klubnik threw for 3,639 yards with 36 touchdown passes to just six interceptions. He also had 463 rushing yards, with seven touchdown runs.

“With the way Cade Klubnik has been playing, I could totally see myself in that offense,” Seaborn said. “He’s been balling out. He’s been airing the ball out and also using his legs a ton. That’s something we do in the offense I’m currently in, and something we continue to keep improving on. Their stuff is very similar to ours.”

Being at Thompson as an eighth-grader means Seaborn was a teammate of current Clemson standout Peter Woods for a season. Seaborn knows that when it comes to learning about what Swinney’s program has to offer, he can always lean on Woods.

“I asked him about Clemson and he says it’s an amazing place, he loves it down there,” Seaborn said. “I asked him if he was going to transfer because I had heard some rumors. He said, there’s absolutely no reason to transfer. Clemson is an amazing program. And they’re on the uprise right now. He loves the people there. He’s getting developed perfectly. Not only as a football player but as a person too. Because of the culture. And that really showed me something, coming from a former teammate and a player at Clemson. Him saying all that stuff, and not coaches kind of displaying it, but him saying it by actually being in it, really says a lot about that program.”

Seeing as he is still just a sophomore, Seaborn is still fairly early in the process, but he’s already ranked inside of the Top 100 overall in his class and among the Top 10 quarterbacks. Last weekend the blue-chip talent only solidified his status as one of the top 2027 quarterbacks by taking home the QB MVP Award at an Under Armor event in Atlanta.

At the same time, Seaborn does already have an idea of what it is he’s looking for in a college program.

“I’m not looking to go to a college to start right away,” he said. “If that happens with the college I choose, that I happen to start right away, then that’s God’s plan. But I want to go to a college where there’s great competition. I’m able to compete, but I’m also able to develop too. Maybe if there’s a starter ahead of me that is a veteran, be able to develop under whoever that is, but also be able to compete with him too, I think that’s really what’s going to make me better.”

While he has accumulated close to 30 early offers, Clemson has yet to pull the trigger. The Tigers won’t start offering players in his class until the summer.

Seaborn did say he would be willing to work out at a session of camp in June, but as busy as his high school schedule is that time of year, it might not be doable.

Either way, the Clemson offer is one Seaborn wants and he doesn’t care that he might have to wait on it a little longer than he did for some of the others.

“Whether they offer me in the summer or not, I still really, really love them,” Seaborn said. “If the offer ever does come, I’d be super blessed. They’re a big-time program. A very, very historic program. It would mean so much to me, and I would love to go to school there. I think it’s a great program, but it’s all up to them. And I think it’s all God’s plan too.”

Photo courtesy of Mickey Welsh / Advertiser-USA TODAY NETWORK