Mason Holtzclaw grew up in Belton, less than an hour from Clemson.
Despite being so close for so many years, the high school sophomore grew up a fan of the rival Gamecocks. However, these days Holtzclaw resides in North Carolina, quarterbacking the Christ School Greenies.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound prospect has camped at Clemson multiple times now, including this past June, meaning he is plenty familiar with Dabo Swinney’s program and everything it has to offer.
“Had a great connection with the coaches, everything like that,” Holtzclaw told The Clemson Insider. “Threw great at the camp. I was working with some of the top quarterbacks at the camp. So that was a good thing.”
The young signal caller had an extremely good day and received high praise from the coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.
“He was just saying that I throw the ball good,” Holtzclaw added. “That I’ve got great size for my class. It’s one of the big things he was talking about. He was saying he loved my film that I had out my freshman season, the way that I played the game and that he can’t wait to watch this sophomore season.”
After he completed his workout, he was brought into the facility to have a deeper conversation with Riley and assistant quarterbacks coach John Grass.
“After the camp was over, I went up and talked to coach Riley,” Holtzclaw said. “Then I got to have dinner with coach Grass. So our relationship is pretty good.”
The sophomore threw for around 150 yards and rushed for a touchdown in a season-opening win over East Burke and is now preparing for a big out-of-region contest against Raburn-Gap, out of Georgia.
While he is just one game into his sophomore campaign, Holtzclaw feels really good about where things stand with the Tigers.
“We’ve had some conversations,” he said. “I would say our relationship’s really good and that they really like me a lot. I really like them pretty good. So that means a lot.”
Holtzclaw will be on hand for Clemson’s season-opener against top-ranked Georgia in Atlanta on Saturday, and he is very interested in seeing how Riley’s offense performs against what is expected to be one of the better defenses in the country.
“Just how they move the ball. That’s a big thing,” he said. “How well I could fit in their offense. One thing I look at is how do they compliment their quarterback and their offense. That’s a big thing.”
From what he already knows about Riley’s offense, Holtzclaw thinks his skillset would fit in nicely.
“One of the biggest things is my accuracy. I have great accuracy,” said Holtzclaw. “I have great pocket presence, making plays, being able to get down the field. I can make plays with my feet. And reading the defense is another one of my biggest things that I can do.”
“Their offense is really good for me, the way they move the ball up and down the field. They’re a balanced team, so I’d say I like that.”
Holtzclaw already has well over a dozen scholarship offers, with Florida State, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech being some of the most recent.
With Clemson not set to start handing out offers to players in the 2027 class until next June, Holtzclaw knows patience will be key, even if the process can be a little frustrating at times. If that offer does come at some point in the future, though, it is one he would have to strongly consider.
“I’d say it can be a little rough at times, but I know that we got we have a pretty good relationship,” Holtzclaw added. “So getting an offer from them would mean a lot. We just need to really keep building our relationships and stuff like that. I’m from South Carolina originally, up in North Carolina now, and that offer would mean a lot. It is close to home. Always grown up watching them.”
Seeing as he is still very early in process, Holtzclaw is in no hurry to make any decision. While some might assume that growing up a fan of the Gamecocks might hurt the Tigers in his recruitment, Holtzclaw insists that is not the case, and that he has no problem seeing himself donning that Clemson Paw at some point in the future.
“Getting a lot of interest and a lot of offers, I don’t really look at it as much now as a South Carolina fan,” said Holtzclaw. “Whoever gives the most interest, whoever I have the best relationships with, that is the place that I want to be.”
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