4-star VT commit discusses ‘dream’ offer from Clemson
By: Gavin Oliver May 11, 2018

On Thursday, Daleville (Va.) Lord Botetourt four-star offensive lineman Jesse Hanson received the scholarship offer he had been waiting his whole life for — an offer from Clemson.

Hanson — who committed to Virginia Tech in February — grew up a Clemson fan and has dreamed of playing for the Tigers since he was little. Both of his parents graduated from Clemson, while his father’s youngest brother and mother’s brother are both Clemson alumni, too.

So, Clemson’s offer is obviously big for the 6-foot-5, 296-pound lineman.

“Any time the childhood dream comes true, something you worked for forever… Any time you talked to me as a kid, if you didn’t see me in Clemson stuff, I’d tell you about Clemson at some point,” Hanson told The Clemson Insider.

“Clemson has a video that they show in their stadium and at recruiting (events) where a little kid is growing up practicing and growing up a Clemson fan and thinking about it, and then he ends up being a Clemson Tiger. A year ago, that kid was me in every way, shape and form. So, to have that accomplished and an actual possibility is pretty awesome.”

Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell visited Hanson’s school on Thursday morning, when he extended the offer.

Later in the day, the two had a phone conversation about the offer and how Hanson would fit in at Clemson.

“He was just reiterating my offer and that they’re going to try really hard to make me a Clemson Tiger,” Hanson said. “He said he envisioned me maybe at right tackle. He knows I can play guard, and he possibly sees me as a center because he wants to utilize how I play and things like that.

“Then he invited me to the cookout this summer, and he was talking about me getting on the phone with (Dabo) Swinney and things like that. So, it was a good call.”

Hanson has competed at the Dabo Swinney Camp in each of the past six summers and visited Clemson several other times as a recruit, including for the Auburn and Florida State games last season.

Although he has stopped taking visits elsewhere since committing to Virginia Tech on Feb. 8, Hanson said he will consider attending Clemson’s All In Cookout in July.

“It will definitely be in consideration,” he said.

Hanson at the Dabo Swinney Camp last June

Hanson lives less than an hour away from Virginia Tech’s campus, and he has visited there multiple times since committing to the Hokies over offers from the likes of Virginia, West Virginia, Duke, North Carolina and Iowa State.

The opportunity to play at Clemson clearly means a lot to Hanson. But are the Tigers too late to offer, or will they be able to flip the Hokies commit?

“Right now obviously I’m jacked up on Clemson, just because it’s a dream,” Hanson said. “But before emotions came into play and everything, I was really thinking about it and knew this was a possibility, that they would offer me down the road. So I took that into play before I committed.

“I’d say if you looked at just the facts and the generic of who I am… If you could get somebody to flip, it would look something like this. But I’m pretty sure I’m solid.”