One of the headliners among the recruits in attendance for Clemson’s top-10 showdown against NC State on Oct. 1 was a five-star offensive lineman ranked by multiple recruiting services as the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class.
David Sanders Jr. of Providence Day School (Charlotte, N.C.) recently went in-depth with The Clemson Insider about his experience on campus for the Tigers’ 30-20 victory over the Wolfpack at Death Valley.
It wasn’t his first time at Clemson, as he visited twice in the spring, though it was his first gameday visit there.
“The Clemson game, that was definitely a big game for me. I enjoyed myself a lot,” Sanders said. “The atmosphere with them playing NC State – it was a top-10 matchup – was really cool.
That was a really cool experience. I got to experience the new LED lights in the stadium and the new scoreboard. Those two additions to the stadium really made the experience more fun.
“But overall, I had a great time. When I got to the stadium, I was able to meet all the coaches and all the players, too. … Then also they let us go to the top of the hill for the pregame for them to run down the hill.
That was definitely the coolest experience ever, just to experience how steep that hill really is, because I always hear it’s steeper than it looks. …
So, I enjoyed that a lot, and just the experience overall – the atmosphere, the fans, the facility – it was really cool. So, I enjoyed the whole thing.”
Sanders made the trip to Tiger Town with his parents.
“They enjoyed it a lot,” he said. “That was their third time going up to Clemson. So, we enjoyed it, and just that family atmosphere – I come from a family atmosphere, and then at Providence Day, it’s all family.
So, when we go to Clemson, they treat us like that, and we enjoy that.”
Sanders, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound sophomore, cited the atmosphere and coaching staff as what stood out the most to him from the visit.
“They’re always down to earth, and every single coach came up to me and talked to me at least for a couple minutes,” he said.
“So, they made me feel like a priority while I was up there, and that definitely made me feel good. But the main thing for me was just the atmosphere.”
The Tigers typically don’t offer prospects until the summer before their junior year, so according to Sanders, the coaches told him to stay patient and “trust the process” with them.
“They take their time in offering a lot of people, so their message to me was basically just waiting your time and your time is really coming,” he said.
“Just do what you’ve got to do in the classroom and on the field and just keep being who I am, and hopefully my time will be coming for Clemson University.”
Added Sanders: “But just getting to talk to them and just knowing how much they want me, even though they don’t offer sophomores…
but they’re keeping me in the loop with the program and with the players, and every time I go up there, they just make me feel like I’m family. So, that’s always a plus for them.”
Sanders said he has also been to South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and East Carolina recently. He’s looking to check out NC State and Georgia before season’s end but doesn’t have any visits scheduled as of now.
He intends to return to Clemson this offseason, and perhaps even again this season, in order to further his relationship with head coach Dabo Swinney and particularly offensive line coach Thomas Austin.
“I’ll try to make it up for another game if possible,” he said. “But I’ll definitely be up there a lot during the offseason for like junior day and just unofficial visits to spend more time around the program and the coaches, just to sit down and talk to them and pick their brain a little bit, see what they’re thinking.
“But I want to be around the program as much as possible so I can build that relationship with not only Coach Swinney, but Coach Austin because that’s probably who I’ll be spending my most time with, knowing that’s the offensive line coach.
So, I just want to get to know him as much as possible and for us to build that relationship.”
Schools such as Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have offered Sanders, who is certainly high on the Tigers early in the process.
“I’ve always had a high respect for Clemson, just what they stand for as a program,” he said. “They’ve never changed for anybody, no matter if you’re a four-star or a three-star or no-star.
They treat all the players that they’re recruiting the exact same, and that’s one thing I’ve always respected about them.
“So, Clemson’s definitely one of my favorite schools out there, and just getting to be around the program and know all the coaches well, that’s going to mean a lot to me. But Clemson’s definitely one of my favorite schools, for sure.”
Sanders, who is rated as a five-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite, is ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the country for the 2025 class by the 247Sports Composite, 247Sports and Rivals.