Analyst Questions if Clemson Is ‘Casting-a-Wide-Enough Net’ in Recruiting

Clemson's recruiting strategy clearly hasn't worked out in recent seasons.

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney joins the team in the alma mater after the 2024 Aflac Kickoff Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Ken Ruinard - Imagn Images

Clemson's recruiting has been in the spotlight since the transfer portal changed. With more movement than ever in college football, Dabo Swinney and the Tigers haven't taken advantage of it.

In terms of high school recruiting, Clemson has done well. According to 247 Sports, they had the No. 11 recruiting class in the 2024 class. They had 22 total commits, highlighted by two five-stars and 10 four-stars.

Their 2025 class ranks among the other top programs in the country, currently No. 16, according to 247 Sports. Clemson doesn't have a five-star commit but has 10 four-stars.

Player retention and recruiting high school student-athletes are still very important. However, when there's a 23-year-old sixth-year senior in the transfer portal, there's a big difference in recruiting that player compared to an 18-year-old.

They have experience that a high school kid simply doesn't.

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN questioned their recruiting, highlighting some of their issues.

"Clemson is certainly doing its homework on who it recruits, but is the program casting a wide-enough net? As my colleague David Hale pointed out, Clemson excels in player retention. Clemson also makes far fewer scholarship offers than most of its peer programs. So the misses seem to sting even more. The good news is no remaining opponents will come close to having Georgia's talent, but Clemson must lock in for a good Appalachian State team on Saturday."

Rittenberg's points are valid. Swinney wants a certain type of player, whether that's right or wrong; it's how he runs his program.

Before the transfer portal turned into what it has, Clemson found success because of his ability to recruit.

The lack of scholarships offered is an interesting talking point. Some top-tier programs offer as many kids as they can, and if they miss out on a player, they have four other potential options.

If they don't land any of those five, they hit the transfer portal and look for the position of need. Clemson, who has the luxury to do that, hasn't done so.

If Clemson has another down campaign, there could be many changes. While Swinney has found plenty of success and there's also been some good despite the struggles recently, this program isn't playing to the standards he helped them set.

All of the good that's happened should also include them competing for a national championship.

Perhaps something is going on behind the scenes, but whatever the case is, it needs to be fixed.