Clemson at Florida State: Recruiting Comparison

Over the past several years, the Florida State football program has been on a sharp, steady decline.

It wasn't so long ago that the annual matchup between Clemson and the Seminoles was one of the bigger games in all of college football. It routinely had major implications on the ACC Atlantic.

The Mike Norvell era has not gotten off to the start many had envisioned and Florida State is currently sitting at 2-6, having dropped their past three games. Clemson is currently ranked fourth in the country and looking to rebound from their first regular season loss in over three years.

The two teams come in worlds apart and with each passing season that gap seems to keep growing. Let's take a look at how the two teams match up from a talent standpoint using the most recent depth charts and the 247 Composite Rankings.

Quarterback:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
Trevor Lawrence	2018 5*	1	1 (No. 6 All-Time)
Jordan Travis	2019 3*	25 (Dual Threat)	889

Everyone knows what Lawrence brings to the table. He's a competitor and after having to miss the Tigers last two games, including the biggest one of the season, it's safe to assume he is itching to get back at it. There is no debate on which team holds the upper hand at this position but Travis can be dangerous when not contained. He's capable of beating you with his legs and is closing in on 600 rushing yards for the season.

Advantage: Clemson

Running Back:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
Travis Etienne (Clemson)	2017 4*	15	213
La'Damian Webb (FSU)	2020 3*	4	57
Jashaun Corbin	2020 4*	8 (APB)	261

Etienne might be having a down year but he is still averaging more than 5 YPC and is still a touchdown machine. He also already has as many receptions as he did all of last season. Both Corbin and Webb have rushed for more than 300 yards for FSU and both average over 5 YPC. At the same time, both are freshmen and neither are the running threat that Noles quarterback Jordan Travis is.

Advantage: Clemson

Wide Receiver:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
Joseph Ngata (Clemson)	2019 4*	9	52
Cornell Powell	2016 4*	30	169
Amari Rodgers	2017 4*	16	117
Keyshawn Helton (FSU)	2018 3*	191	1310
Ontaria Wilson	2017 3*	75	740

The Seminoles are having to start two receivers that are both fairly undersized, but combined they have caught 42 balls this season. However, all three Clemson starters are former blue-chip recruits and Rodgers and Powell are having career seasons. If Ngata is finally healthy, that only makes the Clemson offense that much more dangerous.

Advantage: Clemson

Tight End:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
Braden Galloway (Clemson)	2018 3*	41	858
Camren McDonald (FSU)	2018 4*	15	290

Both Galloway and McDonald are experienced players and have developed into reliable targets this season. Their numbers on the season are eerily similar as well. But Galloway splits time. Backup Davis Allen has also been heavily involved in the offense, giving Lawrence two dependable options at the position.

Advantage: Clemson

Offensive Line:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
LT Jackson Carman (Clemson)	2018 5*	1	17
LG Matt Bockhorst	2017 4*	17	240
C Cade Stewart	2016 3*	163	2021
RG Will Putnam	2019 4*	5	101
RT Jordan McFadden	2018 3*	66	819
LT Darius Washington (FSU)	2019 3*	38	502
LG Dontae Lucas	2019 4*	9	167
C Maurice Smith	2019 3*	58	1093
RG Baevon Johnson	2016 4*	1 (Center)	43
RT Robert Scott Jr	2020 3*	39	508

While the Clemson offensive line has certainly struggled at times this season, particularly with the running game, this group is far superior to what the Seminoles put on the field. Offensive line issues have plagued Florida State going back to the end of the Jimbo Fisher era and 2020 has been no different, as evidenced by the 28 sacks they have allowed so far.

Advantage: Clemson

Defensive Line:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
DE KJ Henry (Clemson)	2018 5*	3	14
DT Tyler Davis	2019 4*	12	137
DT Bryan Bresee	2020 5*	1	1 (18 All-Time)
DE Myles Murphy	2020 5*	1	7
DE Joshua Kaindom (FSU)	2017 5*	3	10
DT Dennis Briggs Jr	2018 4*	25	324
NG Robert Cooper	2018 4*	9	117
FOX Janarius Robinson	2016 4*	7	86

Both teams feature an abundance of talent along the defensive line. Each team has a former blue-chip recruit at every position in their front four. However, Clemson has three former five stars, while the Noles have just the one.

Advantage: Clemson

Linebacker:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
SAM Mike Jones Jr (Clemson)	2018 4*	15	210
MIKE Jake Venables	2018 3*	29	455
WILL Baylon Spector	2017 3*	45	609
WLB Emmett Rice (FSU)	2016 3*	27	395
MLB Stephen Dix Jr	2020 4*	15	240
SLB Amari Gainer	2018 4*	18	239

From a pure talent standpoint, the Seminoles have the edge here. However, Clemson is getting more out of the talent they do have, and that's without James Skalski, the quarterback of this defense, so to speak. Baylon Spector has developed into a tackling machine and Mike Jones Jr has quietly done a really good job of taking over for 2019 unanimous All-American Isaiah Simmons.

Advantage: Clemson

Secondary:

Players	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
CB Derion Kendrick (Clemson)	2018 5*	4 (WR)	26
SS Lannden Zanders	2019 3*	61	781
FS Nolan Turner	2016/NA	Unranked	Unranked
CB Sheridan Jones	2019 4*	15	130
CB Asante Samuel Jr (FSU)	2018 4*	9	60
FS Renardo Green	2019 3*	47	486
BUCK Hamsah Nasirildeen	2017 4*	14	109
CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr	2019 3*	54	546

Both secondary groups have two former blue-chip recruits. While Florida State's also has two former 3-star guys, Clemson's has just one. Then there's Nolan Turner, who was not even ranked by recruiting services coming out of high school. Talk about a guy who has outplayed his ranking.

Advantage: Push

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