Out of the blue, Clemson had a need for a defensive tackle in its 2025 class when Isaiah Campbell decommitted. It didn’t take defensive line coach Nick Eason long to react. He had seen an unheralded prospect in May in DT Christian Ingram (6-6 280) of Covington, GA, and now he, along with several other major programs, are in hot pursuit.
“Over the spring, Coach Eason came to the school and saw me,” Ingram said. “He followed up with me, but I didn’t have the game film yet. The year before that I had just started playing, so that was more like a learning year for me. He was like, he would check back when the season starts to see how I’m doing. He thought that I was developing with what I’ve been working on so far, and he said he liked what he saw. He talked to Coach Dabo (Swinney) and I came down there for a visit.”
The visit was last Saturday for the NC State game.
“Going into the visit, I didn’t have the offer,” Ingram said. “When I first got down, I was walking with Coach Eason, and he took me through the facilities. That was pretty fun. I got a chance to talk with Coach Dabo, and he told me they really like how I’ve been developing, how I’ve been playing so far, and they would like to offer me.”
Ingram has come a long way quickly as a defensive tackle considering he started his football career in 2023 playing some tight end and very little on defense. Eason, however, must see something in Ingram, and he definitely sees something good in Eason.
“My relationship with Coach Eason has definitely been building,” Ingram said. “He checks on me all the time. I actually hopped on a Zoom before and went over a few schemes they were doing. We just talk a lot and he’s always checking on me. As far as their D-line, I like how they run the D-linemen out there. Coach Eason definitely gets guys right straight out of high school for sure, and I like that.”
So, now with the offer from Clemson, the Tigers are a factor with Ingram.
“They are definitely one of my top schools out of Georgia, ‘Bama and Florida Gators,” he said. “They are definitely one of my top schools up there for sure.”
Ingram has also visited Auburn and will go to Alabama this Saturday. He is talking with Georgia about an official visit on October 5th and has one set with Vanderbilt for October 19th. He said he and Eason plan to talk this week about an official visit with the Tigers. He also wants to schedule an official visit with Alabama.