CLEMSON — There is one freshman offensive lineman that Dabo Swinney is warning folks not to sleep on.
No, it’s not Brayden Jacobs or Easton Ware, the two first-year players along the offensive line garnering most of the attention. It’s not even Rowan Byrne or local product Watson Young.
The player Swinney is raving about is actually Gavin Blanchard, the lowest-rated signee in the Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports.
“The kid that nobody talks about is Gavin Blanchard,” Swinney said after Wednesday’s practice. “He was kind of like a lost guy in this class, but that is a good football player right there. He is a dirtbag. He is a really good football player. He is a smart football player.”
Blanchard was a player Clemson showed strong interest in early on, but an issue with his grades kept the staff from offering, and he would ultimately commit to UCF. Late in the cycle, after his grades were where they needed to be, the Tigers offered, and Blanchard quickly decommitted and jumped on board.
Due to his low three-star status as a recruit, some on the outside looking in scoffed at the addition. One service ranked him as low as No. 974 overall.
However, the staff saw something in him. Part of that was his versatility. He is already working at both guard and center, showing early on an ability to play multiple positions.
“He is just one of those guys that plays better than his attributes, I guess is the best way I can say it,” Swinney said. “He is tough. Strong hands. A really good leverage football player. Everybody talks about Easton and Braden, as they should, but this little Gavin Blanchard, he is a really good addition for us.”
While Swinney certainly wasn’t predicting that Blanchard was going to go out and win a starting job as a freshman, he does see the talented freshman potentially being a big piece of the Tigers’ offensive line at some point in the future.
“I am glad we got him,” Swinney said. “I think he’s got a chance to be a really good football player if he will stick with it.”
Photo courtesy of Bart Boatwright