2024 OL Kam Pringle Dishes On Clemson OL Coach Thomas Austin, Decision Timeline

One of the top offensive linemen in the next recruiting cycle was back in Clemson recently.

Kam Pringle, the top-rated 2024 player in the state of South Carolina, took in one of Dabo Swinney's high school camps recently. While he did not participate, his latest visit only reinforced something he's long known about the Clemson program, and that is how every single person in the building is fully invested.

"There's only a few schools that I can walk into a facility and know everybody by their name, everybody that walks past," Pringle told All Clemson. "Of course, it has something to do with me going up there so often but really just a family feeling. Like everybody's just happy to see me, everybody is saying, 'Hey Kam.' Nobody's just walking past. Everybody's kind of invested in what they're building and how they do things."

The 6-foot-7, 330-pound tackle prospect currently has 20 offers, picking up one from the Tigers on June 1, becoming the first offensive linemen in the 2024 class to be offered. 

While first-year offensive line coach Thomas Austin and his predecessor, Robbie Caldwell, had long made it known to Pringle that he would be a top priority, being the first offensive lineman to pick up an offer is something that stands out to the SI All-American candidate.

"If it felt good being the first offensive line offer," Pringle said. "Of course, coach Austin and coach Caldwell told me the first time I stepped on campus that I was gonna be one of the top priorities and coach Austin got to spread the news over a call. It was great."

With Austin entering his first season coaching at the Power-5 level, some potential prospects might not be familiar with his coaching style. However, that doesn't apply to Pringle, as he's been coached by Austin multiple times over the years working out at Clemson camp.

"Coach Austin coached me as a freshman, so now it's really nothing new," he said. "You know, he's still the same guy. He's still the same coach. He hasn't changed one bit. Of course, he's brought some knowledge to the table but everything's still great."

Pringle is just now beginning the process of trimming his list of schools and will name his Top-10 on his birthday, September 13. He then plans to make a decision shortly after the completion of his junior season.

"I'll probably make my final decision, probably in January," he said.

As for what will factor into that decision, a lot of it will center on coaching, as well as the culture that has been cultivated inside that program.

"Coaching. A good coaching staff, great fan base, great people and just a fully invested family," Pringle said. "I don't want to go to a school where they don't even know my mom's name. Or they don't even know what my dad does for a living."

"I wanna go somewhere who's fully invested in me and my family. That way if I was to go there, and things were to go wrong, the coach could call my dad up and say be like, 'what's up man; so this is going on...' I don't want to feel like I'm isolating or stuck on an island."

One of the specific things he is looking for is an offensive line coach that can help him reach his potential and develop him into a high-round NFL Draft pick and Pringle is confident that Austin is capable of doing just that.

"Oh, yes sir. I mean, he's coached some tough guy, he's played in the league himself," Pringle said. "He's been a lot of places, seen a lot of things. He knows what it's like. To play on multiple NFL teams. I feel like he has what it takes. He has the knowledge and the know-how to get me where I need to be."

The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022.

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