An up-and-coming high school sophomore made his first visit to Clemson this weekend.

2029 three-star quarterback Lord Malik Heru (Indian River, VA) was on hand for the Tigers’ 20-16 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday night. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder came away fairly impressed by the experience.

“The culture there,” Heru told The Clemson Insider. “Just how they carry themselves as a staff and as a team. Everybody felt like one bond, like one team. You can tell the coaches like each other and are all on the same page.”

While the Clemson offense might have struggled during his visit, as a quarterback, Heru sees himself as the type of player that could come in and help solve some of the issues. He also liked that the Tigers didn’t quit pushing until the final whistle.

“I always think like that,” Heru said. “Then I like to see how the team will combat that adversity. Will they lay down for the other team or do they keep fighting?”

Despite only being a sophomore, Heru is already generating a lot of interest. He already holds more than two dozen offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina and SMU. Even more impressive is that he’s garnering these offers without having attended any summer camps.

Getting that kind of attention at such a young age could prove to be challenging for some, but Heru and his family try to keep things simple.

“I let my parents worry about the recruitment process,” he said. “I just worry about football and my grades. That’s it.”

During the visit, Heru got to spend some time with quarterback coach Tajh Boyd. One of the things discussed was the Tigers’ slow recruiting process. Offers won’t start going out to players in his class until next summer, and Heru says he is planning to camp at Clemson to try and increase his odds of landing one.

“It would be a blessing,” Heru added. “That would mean I meet their requirements — that they see the potential in me and I can fit in their system. That would mean a lot to me.”

Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Virginia have also gotten game-day visits, while he still has trips planned to SMU, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Notre Dame.

As he goes through this early wave of visits, the quarterback is paying a lot of attention to the coaches at each school, and the cultures inside the programs.

“How the coaching staff is and how the teams bond with each other,” Heru said. “Then, of course, the offense. And would this place feel like home?”

– photo courtesy of Lord Malik Haru on X (formerly known as Twitter)