Newest offensive line commit says Clemson has a special place in his heart

4-star lineman Ian Reed committed to Clemson Tuesday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jun 08 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

Texas is turning into a fertile recruiting ground for head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers.

Offensive tackle Ian Reed (6-5 310) of Austin (Vandegrift) announced a commitment to Clemson Tuesday afternoon. Reed made his official visit to Clemson last weekend. He also visited in April for the spring game, and that’s when he picked up his offer. Reed took an official visit to Tennessee at the end of May, and he had other June official visits scheduled with Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, and Texas. He was also going to work in an unofficial visit to Alabama.

The Tigers currently have three Texas products on the roster in quarterback Cade Klubnik and safeties RJ Mickens and Andrew Mukuba. Clemson is chasing more Texas prospects, including offensive lineman Harris Sewell of the famed Permian program.

For Reed, however, choosing Clemson was easy.

“It was unbelievable, and what stood out to me was how special Clemson felt in my heart, and after taking a couple of visits there, I knew in my heart it was home,” Reed said Tuesday.

First-year offensive line coach Thomas Austin made Reed one of his early recruiting targets and the two built a very strong relationship during the recruiting process.

“I told Coach Austin first and he was freaking pumped. To be his first offensive line commit feels amazing,” Reed said. “He’s such a great guy. Even though he’s a first-time coach, he knows what he’s doing. He brings the family approach to it as well. He thinks I’m very good and have a high upside in college football. He said I could possibly go far in the NFL. He loves the skill set that I have. The system that I run in high school is similar to Clemson’s, and he likes that as well. He thinks I have some God-given talent.”

He then said that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney promotes a program that promises to help long after football.

“The culture of what Dabo and the coaches and the people at Clemson have created, they want to make succeed in life through faith and school and to develop you,” Reed told TigerNet. “Coach Swinney was excited, too, when I told him and he is very excited about my potential as a player and as a man in life.”

The Tigers have been hot on the recruiting trail the last few days. Four-star cornerback Avieon Terrell committed Monday, Reed pulled the trigger early Tuesday, and then tight end Olsen Patt Henry committed later Tuesday. Fresh off of a big recruiting weekend full of official visits, the Tigers appear poised to add a few more this month.