Top Georgia lineman Elyjah Thurmon says Tigers are high on his list after weekend visit

Elyjah Thurmon visited Clemson last weekend (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Tue Sep 26 16:31:03 GMT-04:00 2023

One of the top offensive line recruits in the state of Georgia took in Clemson’s loss to Florida State last Saturday, and he’s hopeful he will be back for an official visit when the Tigers take on Georgia Tech.

Elyjah Thurmon is a 2024 3-star offensive guard out of Hinesville (GA) Bradwell Institute who made an unofficial visit to Clemson Saturday for the Florida State game. Thurmon said he arrived around 9:00 AM and got the full recruit’s treatment with behind-the-scenes access to pre-game activities. He then settled in and watched the game before leaving at halftime.

“Overall, the experience was a great experience,” Thurmon said. “What stood out to me was their O-line is really disciplined. The guys are always communicating with each other, they are always figuring out their blocks and how to move around. Just a really disciplined group of guys.”

Prior to the game, Thurmon met up with offensive line coach Thomas Austin, and he shared a few minutes with head coach Dabo Swinney.

“Coach Swinney was mostly preaching to me about education,” Thurmon said. “It’s a top-notch education but also a school that wants to compete for a national championship, and he wanted me to be a part of that team that’s trying to get there.”

Clemson has been in the top eight with Thurmon, and this visit kept the Tigers in a contending position as the rest of Thurmon’s recruiting experience plays out.

“It put them pretty high, but for me, everything is still the same,” Thurmon said. “I’m still keeping options open. Right now, it’s just see what happens and get ready to take my OVs. I do have my official visit set for Clemson November 10-12. I’m trying to see if I can take an OV this weekend at Duke. They are the only school (on his list) with a home game. I’m going to try to get in touch with LSU and get a date for that one squared away as well.”

Thurmon has also had South Carolina, UCF, Missouri, Georgia Tech and Florida on his shortlist. Thurmon plans to narrow his list to 5-6 schools and will take his official visits with those.