4-Star OL Had Expectations 'Blown Out of Water' on First Clemson Visit

Adam Guthrie’s first visit to Clemson had to be postponed, but ultimately it was worth the wait.

The 4-star offensive lineman (Miami Trace, OH) was originally supposed to visit for the App State game, but a scheduling conflict would postpone those plans. Guthrie would make the Tigers’ next home contest, last weekend’s blowout win over NC State.

Guthrie was able to meet with head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive line coach Matt Luke.

“It went really good,” Guthrie told The Clemson Insider. “Definitely liked my time down there. Especially just talking with coach Luke and coach Swinney, a lot like both of them a lot.”

Luke made a stop by Guthrie’s high school back in the spring and told him an offer was waiting on him once he was able to get in for a visit. While on campus, Guthrie was taken into Swinney’s office where the head coach followed through on that promise, dispensing the offer.

“I was very grateful for it,” Guthrie said. “Coming from a small town, you don’t have a lot of those offers around here. I was definitely grateful for that.”

Since the contact period began back in June, Luke and Guthrie have been working on building their relationship.

“Seems like a very down to earth type of guy,” Guthrie said. “Seems like a guy that can get along with his players very nice and still coach them hard at the same.”

Guthrie is one of the more south-after offensive linemen in the 2026 class. He has close to three dozen offers, ranking as high as No. 130 overall, No. 10 among all tackle prospects and as one of the top players in the state of Ohio.

He still has plans to visit the home state Buckeyes, Tennessee and Texas before the end of the season. He has already visited Kentucky, on top of his visit to Clemson.

When comparing Swinney’s program to some of the others, there are some things that makes Clemson stand out, most notably the head coach’s commitment to the players on his roster.

“Definitely the way they use the transfer portal. I kind of like that coming out of high school,” Guthrie said. “And just the way they seem very genuine. Everyone in the building does.”

Guthrie currently has no timeline for when he wants to have a decision made. However, when asked if the Tigers helped themselves this weekend, the blue-chip talent was definitive with his answer.

“A lot. It definitely blew my expectations out of the water,” Guthrie said. “Definitely liked my time there.”

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