Rivals100 Offensive lineman Collin Sadler blew up early in the recruiting process but the Greenville, S.C. wasn’t going to drag out his recruitment. Clemson wasn’t his first big offer but it meant the most to him and he decided to stay home and play for the Tigers.
IN HIS OWN WORDS...
“At the end of the day, I had to go to school I've had the most hands on experience with and, with that being said, I'll be staying home committing to Clemson University,” Sadler said. “Go Tigers!”
“To be honest with you, I just really wanted to get everything over with,” he said. “I’ve known my decision, and it was a great decision, for a while. I've had the best relationships with those coaches out of any coaches I've built relationships with so far. I just felt like it was time.
“Growing up around here, Clemson's one of those schools that it just seems like a monolith of school,” said Sadler. “Who would have thought a kid from my neighborhood would be able to go play ball at Clemson. That was just huge for me. As soon as I got the offer of course the first thing that came through my head was commitment but my family and I prayed through it and we decided that we needed a period of just figuring everything out first.
“I just can't even put into words how blessed I am to be able to take this opportunity,” he said. “I’m pretty sure they have four or five in-state offers and that's just a crazy percentage so being able to be part of that percentage is huge for me.
“What they've told me is I just have to work my ass off. I'm willing to do that,” Sadler said. “I try to do that every single day. I’m going to try to take that same attitude that I have in high school and bring that to a collegiate level.”
WHAT CLEMSON IS GETTING...
Sadler is a monster road-grading offensive lineman that could play tackle or guard for Clemson. There's some work he needs to do on his body to transition with some bad way to solid muscle mass but there's a lot to like about his potential. He excels as a run blocker, driving his man off the ball using his impressive overall strength to muscle defensive linemen out of running lanes. He doesn't have a ton of experience against elite pass rushers so there could be a learning curve there, but Clemson has no shortage of great defensive linemen so he'll get that experience once he gets on campus. Overall, this looks like one of the better offensive line commitments the Tigers have picked up in recent years and this is a position that Clemson has done increasingly well recruiting over the last two or three recruiting cycles.
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE TIGERS...
Clemson has really stepped up their efforts to recruit highly rated offensive linemen. They already hold a commitment from Rivals250 offensive linemen Blake Miller out of Ohio and now with Sadler in the fold the Tigers have the foundation for another outstanding offensive line class. The 2020 class of offensive linemen Clemson signed was their best ever and, while this class probably won’t be as big, it could feature more highly rated prospects. Look for the Tigers to add one more big offensive linemen in the 2022 class. Incredibly, Clemson has only offered five offensive linemen in the 2022 class and now they hold commitments from two of them.
