Max Riley’s light travel schedule this fall included a stop in Clemson for the Tigers’ blowout win over The Citadel last weekend.

The 4-star offensive lineman, out of Avon Lake (OH), has now taken about half a dozen trips to Clemson in all and this latest included a lot of face-time with Dabo Swinney and Matt Luke, with the head coach making a strong pitch to the talented prospect and his parents.

“It went really well,” Riley told The Clemson Insider. “Enjoyed spending time with Coach Luke, Coach Swinney, Coach (Carson) Cramer, all those guys. A great group of people to be around. Had a 20-30 minute meeting with Coach Swinney, Coach Luke; me and my parents. Coach Swinney gave some insight into the program, how he runs things and whatnot. Just kind of like his perspective, which I thought was pretty enlightening.”

Since Swinney added Luke to the coaching staff late last year, the relationship between Riley and the Tigers’ offensive line coach have developed quite the bond. Luke’s track record for development is something that resonates.

“I really like him,” Riley added. “He’s a great dude, great coach. Obviously, anywhere he’s coached, he’s developed a lot of great offensive linemen. Family-oriented. Nothing but positive things to say about him.”

Riley put out a list of his top seven schools over the summer that included Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Missouri.

This fall, Riley chose to focus a lot of attention on his junior year of high school and limited his travel schedule. Along with the trip to Clemson, he also made stops at Ohio State and Michigan State, with those three schools being the ones Riley said were at the top for him currently.

And the culture at Clemson is something Riley said stands out.

“Coach Swinney and the culture at Clemson is different than a lot of schools,” Riley said. “It just depends on the person, the appeal, but that’s a great program. Coach Swinney and his staff are a bunch of great people.”

Being a Top 50 talent and one of the best offensive line prospects in his class means Riley has been going through the recruiting process for quite some time and he now sees a light at the end of the tunnel, saying he is looking to have a decision made as soon as early next year.

“I’m hoping by January or February I will have a good idea,” he said. “I’ve been going through the recruiting process since January of my freshman year. I’ve had the opportunity to visit a lot of schools and stuff and put out a top seven over the summer.”

As he draws closer to making that decision, Riley knows exactly what it is he is looking for, and Clemson would seem to check a lot of those boxes.

“I would definitely say the culture of the program,” Riley said. “The head coach, the position coach. The faith base of a program is pretty important for me. Obviously, the weight room program, academics and all that stuff too.”

Photo courtesy of Max Riley on X (formerly known as X)