Brentson Buckner was a terror on Clemson’s defensive line in the early 1990s and went on to a distinguished 12 year stint in the NFL. He’s now the defensive line coach with the Raiders. He’s not lost contact with his Clemson roots, and those ties could get stronger as the Tigers consider offering his son, DE Brandon Buckner (6-3 241) of Chandler, AZ.

The younger Buckner has made many trips to Clemson for games, and he also has been in as a recruit, first in April and most recently in June for a camp session. Buckner has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State, Maryland and Iowa State. And of course, an offer from Clemson would be extra special.

Buckner visited Clemson for the spring game, so he got a taste of the gameday atmosphere from a recruit’s view.

“The trip was amazing. Just being on campus and seeing everything for a while was awesome,” Buckner said. “The fans, they really came out in the orange and white. Just seeing all of the players running down the hill, that moment is just surreal. I really enjoyed my time down there. As a recruit, it’s a whole different perspective. It’s fun as a recruit. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid. I want to be where Xavier Thomas is. I want to run down that hill. Seeing all of that in first person, you get to just soak it in. It’s definitely life-changing being in that moment and looking at it all like, ‘You’ve been dreaming and hopefully, I get the chance to get there.’ It was a good moment for me.”

All that’s left to complete that dream is the phone call from defensive coordinator Brent Venables with an offer.

“If I got an offer from Clemson, it would be an honor,” Buckner said. “Running down that hill, that’s all I’ve got say. Seeing the fans, running down the hill, playing in Death Valley, that would be awesome.”

Bucker has also taken unofficial visits to NC State, Oregon and Arizona State.