One thing that Clemson football fans were reminded of in 2024 was the importance of never taking the offensive line for granted. That's because unprecedented injury woes among that position group left the O-line decimated toward the end of the regular season.
Therefore, every offensive line piece that the program can add could be a crucial building block for the future as Tiger fans hope to never see the program have to go as deep into their O-line depth as it did last fall.
One name to keep an eye on when it comes to the recruiting trail is Adam Guthrie. He's a 4-star offensive tackle from Ohio who has interest in the Tigers.
In fact, two experts at 247Sports.com, Cory Fravel and Allen Trieu recently posted "crystal ball" predicitions for Guthrie to land at Clemson. That would be a huge win for the Tigers.
Guthrie, a 6-foot-7, 285-pounder, is raked by the 247Sports.com composite rankings as the No. 169 overall player and No. 15 offensive tackle in the nation for the class of 2026. One look at his offer list shows why he is such a high-priority target for Dabo Swinney and Co.
In addition to Clemson, he also holds offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Southern California, and others.
According to The Clemson Insider, Guthrie will visit camps in early March for the "Elite Retreat" recruiting event. Perhaps that will be when the Tigers can seal the deal in this recruiting battle.
In the class of 2026, Swinney has already landed one offensive lineman, Braden Wilmes. He's a 6-foot-8, 280-pound 3-star tackle from Lawrence, Kansas.
What's more, in the 2025 class, which will arrive on campus this fall, Clemson landed four offensive linemen. Thus, it is easy to see that beefing up that position group is a priority for the coaching staff.
Hopefully, the type of injuries we saw the Tigers sustain along the O-line last season won't become a common occurrence. Because players such as Tristan Leigh, Marcus Tate, and Elyjah Thurman were all lost for significant time, the Tigers were down to just nine healthy offensive linemen on their roster by the end of the regular season making it a chore just to hold a full practice.
The only way to guard against such attrition, especially along the O-line where injuries seem to be commonplace given the size of the players and the nature of the positions they play, is to continually stockpile talent and keep the pipeline full of potential contributors. That's what the Tigers are trying to do this offseason and landing Guthrie would be a huge step in that direction.