The Matt Luke Effect: Clemson continues offensive line surge

Luke has made his mark on Clemson's football program in a brief amount of time.

David Hood · Senior Writer · Tuesday, June 10 2025

Hey Matt Luke, go somewhere with the family. Take some time off. Rest. You’ve earned it.

Clemson’s 2026 recruiting class has shot up the rankings to land in the top five for most scouting services, including No. 2 by Rivals and No. 3 by 247Sports. Luke’s offensive line recruitment is a major piece of those lofty numbers.

Luke replaced Thomas Austin in December of 2023, coached the offensive line in Gator Bowl practice and the bowl itself, and improved Clemson's offensive line in his first season, producing two All-ACC selections in Blake Miller and Marcus Tate. Clemson tied for the national lead with six games with 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards.

Luke stepped away from coaching in 2022 and 2023 to spend more time with his family. He was Georgia's offensive line coach in 2020 through 2021, helping the Bulldogs win the national championship in 2021 before resigning February 2022.

But Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney called and Luke returned to the coaching ranks and has proven he still has what it takes to not only coach, but recruit, at a high level.

The Tigers have six offensive line commitments for the 2026 recruiting cycle in 4-star Leo Delaney (6-6, 290), 4-star Chancellor Barclay (6-3 1/2 285), 4-star Carter Scruggs (6-4, 280), 4-star Grant Wise (6-3, 280), 4-star Adam Guthrie (6-6, 292), and 4-star Braden Wilmes (6-8, 285).

That’s a lot of size for one recruiting class in what might be the best offensive line haul in Clemson history. Former Clemson center Dalton Freeman was at camp Saturday, and he marveled at how Clemson’s offensive line fortunes are changing.

Back in the day the Tigers would offer players who weighted 245 or 250, feed them and put them in the weight room for three years and hope that after three years they could be productive. A slimmed down Freeman smiled when I asked, “where did you go?” in reference to his physique, and he said, “This is what I look like when I don’t have to play offensive line. But these kids today come in ready to plug and play.”

The Tigers hoped to land six offensive linemen for the cycle and that goal has been achieved (pending attrition), but 5-star Darius Gray says Clemson and Luke still keep in touch.

“My relationship with Coach Luke is great,” Gray told TigerNet. “He’s a great dude, and I enjoy being around him all of the time. His message is that I don’t have to compromise anything at Clemson, as everything is there for me and there are many different doors that players like myself can succeed in.”

Carter Jones, a 2027 offensive lineman, praised Luke for his handling of the recruiting process.

“Coach Luke has had a huge impact on me throughout my recruitment process,” Jones said. “He is a very amazing offensive line coach, and after talking with his players, I can tell that they love him too.”

Class of 2026 offensive lineman Zaden Krempin said he can tell Luke’s players love their coach.

“From the moment we got there, every coach went out of their way to spend time with me and my dad,” Krempin said. “I’ve never had a school do that. I spent a ton of time with coach Luke and we all got to talk to the entire offensive line before dinner. They love him.”

Wise said it’s easy to tell the reason Clemson’s offensive line has improved.

“Coach Luke is a great coach,” Wise said. “He is one of the best in college football. He’s a great guy, a great recruiter, and has changed Clemson’s line in the last year. Looking at them the year before and now, it's night and day. I think he’s had a really huge impact on the team.”

A college coach who coached with Luke at Ole Miss had his son in the offensive line grouping this week, and he laughed as Luke prodded a younger lineman who was trying to get back to his position group from a water break but didn’t move fast enough for Luke. Luke prodded the youngster by saying, “Come on hot dog! Move it! Come on hot dog, don’t get lazy on me now” before turning to us with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

“That’s just him,” the coach said. “You could last year that the offensive line was better, and they will be even better this year. And now he’s got some of his guys already on campus and they can learn under him for another year before they have to go play. You can tell how much of a difference he’s made.”