Top OL prospect not wanting to make a mistake in recruiting process

Freeling visited Clemson twice last season.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sat Feb 26 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

Monroe Freeling doesn’t want to make a mistake he will regret in the future, so he’s taking his time with the recruiting process.

Freeling (6-7, 285) is a 4-star 2023 offensive tackle prospect out of Mt. Pleasant (SC) Oceanside Collegiate who is one of the most sought-after offensive linemen in the region. Freeling hasn’t had much of a chance to catch his breath since school started in August. First, there was his football season that lasted into November.

Once that was over, it was on to basketball, and that will continue to at least Monday night when the Landsharks play in the Lower State Finals of the 3A Tournament. Mixed in among all of that has been his football recruiting process.

In March he has set visits to Clemson on the 5th and Miami on the 28th. There may be more visits to come but none has been set at this point.

New Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin has made Freeling a top priority and he’s doing all he can to keep the Tigers in a strong position.

“They let me know when they offered me that I’m their No. 1 guy and I feel like it’s been kept the same way the past couple of months,” Freeling said. “I’ve been talking to Coach Austin a couple of times a week, just texting back and forth and doing some phone calls, just catching up on basketball and maintaining a good relationship.”

Austin took over for veteran coach Robbie Caldwell who retired from his on-field role after last season. From his standpoint, Freeling said that transition could not have gone smoother.

“For me it kind of felt like Coach Austin was going to take over the role,” Freeling said. “I had a feeling at camp that the fact I was spending more time with Coach Austin than Coach Caldwell that he was going to be taking over the job. That’s my take on it.”

Freeling picked up another major offer Wednesday from Ohio State. It’s not an offer he saw coming at the time he got it.

“That’s really cool,” Freeling said. “They are a great program, great at development and I’m excited to grow my relationship with them over the next several months. This (Ohio State’s interest) is new, very new to me.”

As for South Carolina, Freeling said there’s still contact with offensive line coach Greg Adkins going on, but he doesn’t plan to visit there right now.

“A few texts back and forth. That’s about it,” he said. “I’m not sure (if they’re pushing for him). We’ll see if that changes.”

Along with Clemson and Miami, and now Ohio State, Freeling said the other programs he’s hearing the most from include Notre Dame, Michigan, Virginia and Penn State. Freeling is staying open regarding when he’ll make a decision.

“When I know I know,” Freeling said. “I don’t want to rush in and make a mistake I’ll regret in the future.”