This past fall, a priority Clemson offensive line target in the class of 2024 narrowed down his list of 30-plus scholarship offers.

Clemson made the cut for Tuscarora High School (Leesburg, Va.) four-star tackle Fletcher Westphal, who listed the Tigers in the top 10 he released last November along with Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Michigan State, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Washington.

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with the 6-foot-8, 330-pound rising senior, and he reflected on why he included Dabo Swinney’s program among the favorites in his recruitment.

“It’s that culture, the atmosphere there, Coach Swinney as the head coach there, Coach (Thomas) Austin, O-line coach,” Westphal said. “I mean, it’s definitely a great place to be at. You’re going to win a lot of games if you go there. You’re definitely going to get a few rings if you go there. They’re going to develop you as a man, they’re going to develop you as a player, and there’s not too many negatives about Clemson.”

Swinney paid a visit to Westphal’s school in January, and he has been staying in regular contact with Austin and the Tigers.

“One of the big messages that they’re giving me right now is that I’m definitely a priority for them,” Westphal said. “I know that Clemson doesn’t offer a lot of people. They pour a lot of energy into those five, six recruits that they have at each position.”

Westphal picked up an offer from Clemson during a visit last June. The top-150 national prospect, per 247Sports, made multiple trips to Tiger Town last year. He was most recently on campus in October for the NC State game.

Asked what stands out most to him from those visits to Clemson, Westphal replied, “It’s the consistency.”

“The consistency that Clemson has definitely shown on all the visits,” he explained. “I’ve been on a junior day, I’ve been on a spring practice, I stopped by in June to say what’s up to Coach Austin, and I went to a gameday visit. So, I’ve been on a few. But it’s really the consistency of all those visits.”

Westphal was unable to attend the Tigers’ elite junior day in late January due to his mother recovering from knee surgery, but Clemson is among the visits he expects to make this spring.

“I’m going to try and make it to almost the entirety of my top 10 list – Auburn, Clemson, all the schools – and then NC State and Florida State,” he said. “They’re two schools that have been pushing, recruiting me still. So, I decided that I’ll try and hit those two schools as well during the spring period.”

Westphal is looking to further trim his list after those spring trips, and then ultimately render a college decision during his senior campaign.

“I’ll probably narrow it down after the spring, so probably around June-ish right before official visit season,” he said. “And then sometime during my senior season, I’ll make that commitment to whichever school I’m going to.”

At this point in the process, how do the Tigers stack up with the other schools in Westphal’s top 10?

“I would definitely say Clemson’s up there pretty high,” he said. “Like I said, it’s that consistency that they have. They’re consistently great and good. There’s not much else you can say. They do everything extremely well, and it’s a great place to be at.”

Westphal is ranked as high as the No. 143 overall prospect in the 2024 class by 247Sports, which considers him the No. 3 prospect in the state of Virginia and No. 6 offensive tackle nationally.

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