Dabo Swinney and Clemson football are no strangers to recruiting at a high level. The legendary coach has signed his fair share of top-10 recruiting classes and while the 2025 group wasn't exactly as highly-touted as some of his others, Swinney knows he needs to get to work if he wants to get the program back to the top of the sport.
And working he is.
Swinney and the Tigers just received some good news regarding the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the 2026 class earlier this week as Darius Gray announced that he would be taking visits to four schools this spring.
Clemson made the cut along with LSU, Michigan, and South Carolina.
Elite IOL Darius Gray has spring visits locked in to Clemson, South Carolina, LSU and Michigan, @SWiltfong_ reports✈️
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) March 5, 2025
Gray ranks No. 42 NATL. (No. 3 IOL) in the 2026 class.
Read: https://t.co/VefOlLRdNJ pic.twitter.com/kdIvbquR0T
While this isn't his "top schools" list, it's a good indicator of who is standing out early on in the process and who he wants to see more of. Clemson being on there just proves that the Tigers are going to be in the running for him until the end and if they blow him away on his trip, he could pull the trigger and join the 2026 class.
Gray is a five-star interior offensive lineman who also happens to be the No. 1 interior lineman in the class, per 247Sports. He stands 6-foot-3, weighs 285 pounds, and holds almost 50 offers.
Clemson is making moves with the Richmond, Va., native as he gets closer to narrowing things down. He has some major decisions to make with almost four dozen offers but Clemson could make the cut if he likes what he sees during the Tigers' spring visit.
Other schools to keep an eye on here are Penn State, Auburn and Tennessee, according to 247Sports.