When Clemson started dishing out offers to class of 2022 recruits on June 1, the first out-of-state prospect to earn an offer from the Tigers was Daleville (Va.) Lord Botetourt four-star lineman Gunner Givens.

The 6-foot-6, 275-pound rising junior, who is being recruited by Clemson as an athlete who could play on either side of the ball, has been communicating with defensive coordinator Brent Venables since receiving the offer.

“Just chopping it up about different stuff, the corona and how he and his family’s doing to how my family’s doing with it, and the Clemson football program obviously, just keeping up with stuff like that,” Givens said of their conversations.

The Tigers offered Givens as a two-way prospect. If he decides to play for Clemson, he could either be an offensive lineman or a defensive tackle or end depending on how much he weighs when he graduates.

Venables has made it clear to Givens that the Tigers hope to get him on board, whether he ends up playing on offense or defense.

“He was just like, we want you regardless of what you’re going to play,” Givens said. “He said he thinks I can play anywhere there, so whatever my weight is when I graduate is what I’m going to play down there.”

Givens is open to lining up wherever will benefit him most down the road.

“My goal is to play in the NFL, so whatever position is going to take me there is what I want to play,” he said.

Givens cites more than 40 total offers, with his lengthy list featuring schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, Michigan, Penn State, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.

The Buckeyes are in position to get Givens on campus in Columbus after the NCAA dead period draws to a close, while there are some other schools he is eyeing visits to as well.

“I’m going to go to Ohio State as soon as possible just because they offered me, and Texas, I’m going to start narrowing my list down after those two offer me,” Givens said. “So, I’m definitely going to make it to Ohio State. I mean, Texas is all the way across the country. I’ll try and get over there, but that’s going to be a heck of a time getting down there. But other than that, I’ll definitely get back down to Clemson again. I loved it down there when I was down there the first time. And probably the Florida schools. I haven’t been down to Florida yet, so I’ll hit some schools down there and then I’ll probably go to Penn State. But that’s really it.”

Givens doesn’t know when he will make his commitment decision and says it’s too early for him to single out favorites in his recruitment right now, but Clemson made a great impression on Givens when it hosted him for a visit this spring and figures to be squarely in the mix for his services over the long haul.

“I love Clemson, man,” he said. “When I was down there, I literally loved everything about them – their coaching staff, the way they carried themselves, the facilities, the academics, just everything. So yeah, they’ll definitely be up there on my list.”

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