After Latest Visit, Clemson 'Checked It Off' With In-State Running Back

Tony O’ Banner does a little bit of everything for his high school.

Through eight games this season, the 2026 in-state ATH (Thomas Heyward Academy) has thrown for more than 300 yards, rushed for close to 1,100 and even has two catches. He has scored 14 touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball he has 27 tackles.

It’s that production that has intrigued the coaches at Clemson, who are looking at O’ Banner as a running back. The high school junior was on hand for the Virginia game.

“It was good,” O’ Banner told The Clemson Insider. “I liked it a lot.”

It was his second game day visit to Clemson after having taken his first last season for the matchup with Charleston Southern. Getting to go inside the locker room to hear Dabo Swinney’s pregame speech on Saturday was something that made an impression.

“The talks they had inside of the locker room, that is what stood out,” O’ Banner said. “The great energy they had through the players and the coaches and just being able to get the chance to see what a college team looks like. And the locker room and outside the locker room and all that good stuff.”

O’ Banner is still fairly early in the recruiting process and hasn’t given much thought about any kind of timeline for making a decision. He visited South Carolina earlier this season and this weekend he will be at Duke.

For now, he is just looking to expose himself to some of the college coaches out there and get himself acclimated to the process.

“Just looking to see how the environment is, how the facility and all that stuff looks,” he said. “Where I fit best.”

However, early in the process or not, O’ Banner really liked what he has seen from Clemson. It’s the culture that really stands out and how the program develops its players not only on the field but also off of it.

“Clemson kind of checked it off with the P.A.W. Journey,” O’ Banner said. “Becoming a better man as yourself and not just becoming a better athlete.”

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