4-star GA QB "excited about what the future holds" in Clemson relationship after offer

Grayson Mann · Staff Writer · Sunday, July 06 2025

Kharim Hughley's Fourth of July weekend had more fireworks than he expected.

All it took was answering the phone for a call from Garrett Riley.

The 2027 four-star quarterback hailing from Gainesville (GA) announced an offer from Clemson on July 5, as the Tigers rapidly expanded their board with plenty of talented signal callers.

Hughley certainly fits that bill.

The Georgia native already holds offers from Ole Miss, South Carolina, Auburn, and several other top programs.

For Hughley, this offer was a long time coming from the Tigers, dating back to his first experience on campus working out for Dabo Swinney's high school camp back in early June.

From there, the relationship between the player and program only continued to strengthen after an impressive showing.

"I did a camp and an unofficial visit at the same time, so I got to tour around and talk to the coaches a little bit more, but that was my first time up there," Hughley told TigerNet. "I've never seen anything before of Clemson, and I really did really well up there, and the coaches were impressed and were able to build a relationship from there. And our relationship has only gotten better from the time we've been talking and excited about what the future holds."

Garrett Riley and Tajh Boyd have been in consistent communication with the four-star prospect since that appearance in June, getting to know Hughley further as the relationship progressed.

Hughley is aware of Clemson's history with Deshaun Watson, with Boyd having aided in the recruiting process for the former Gainesville star and now doing the same for him.

Pair that history of the Tigers' recruitment with his respect for how Riley has treated him during the summer, and there's a strong bond between he and the coaches.

"It's been really good to be able to talk to both Coach Boyd from a player's perspective, if that makes sense," Hughley said. "He played there, he recruited another famous quarterback out of my school, so I just kind of got a little bit of a connection there. And then Coach Riley, obviously he's the coach, OC, he's a really good coach. I like the way he coaches, and he's not self-centered, if that makes sense. He's willing to learn from everybody else that's around him, if that makes sense. And I really like that about him."

Moving forward, Hughley views the Tigers as a top program within his recruitment, with the impressions from his visit and growing time with the coaching staff combining to create significant momentum this summer.

He hasn't finalized a game for a visit, but is eyeing LSU as a potential spot for him to take another campus visit in the near future.

"They're one of my top schools for sure," Hughley said. "No doubt. They really made a good impression on me when I was down there and everything's been getting better and better and stronger and stronger, especially now that it's official. It's a school that I can attend. It's not just an offer. So they stand really, really high for me."