Dabo Swinney flies from West Virginia to Columbia chasing a coveted offensive tackle

Dabo Swinney flew Clemson's King Air N91CT from Eastern West Virginia Regional (KMRB) to Columbia Metropolitan (KCAE) on May 29, a 1-hour-53-minute hop that dropped the two-time national champion into the heart of South Carolina's recruiting hotbed. The departure from Shepherd Field, near Martinsburg, suggests Swinney spent the morning in the Mid-Atlantic before turning back south.

The destination points to Zyon Guiles, a four-star offensive tackle in the 2027 class from Irmo, S.C., roughly 15 miles from KCAE. Per 247Sports, Guiles holds a Clemson offer and visited campus in March; Swinney's in-home visit during the spring evaluation period, which runs through May 31, is a standard move to reinforce the Tigers' pitch against in-state rival South Carolina and a growing list of SEC suitors. Guiles is the No. 10 tackle nationally in his class.

The flight continues a busy recruiting stretch for Swinney — the same King Air made a round trip between Clemson and KMRB two days earlier. Clemson's 2027 class currently holds two commitments and ranks outside the top 25 nationally, per On3, making every in-person contact with a top-200 prospect like Guiles a priority for a program that has leaned on the Carolinas pipeline for decades.