Clemson's 2021 Recruiting Class: 'The Pandemic Posse'

Clemson put a bow on another stellar recruiting class on Wednesday morning, signing 18 players to a 2021 recruiting class that is currently ranked as one of the best in the country.

Despite the difficult circumstances that college football programs are currently faced with, Clemson still managed to put together another recruiting class that will end up as one of the best in the country. 

The Tigers signed 18 players on the first day of the early signing period and head coach Dabo Swinney says that it's already a class he will never forget.

"I'll never forget this class, ever," Swinney said. "The pandemic posse what I've called them. Because this is the most unique recruiting class that we've had to sign and the most unique recruiting experience that any of us have had."

It's a class that has eight players currently ranked in the SI99, with six of those being ranked among the top 43 players in the country. Currently only Alabama and Ohio State have more SI99 prospects.

However, not only is this a class full of elite-level players, it's also littered with players that come from winning high school programs. Swinney says those kind of experiences are always beneficial. 

"It's an exciting group. It's a group that brings power, speed, athleticism, high character, and great leadership qualities," Swinney said. "And one of the really cool things about this class is, they're all winners. These guys have won. The great majority of these guys have won state championships, or they've competed for them. Coming from programs that have great cultures and they're well coached and I know they're gonna bring this stuff with him."

Swinney says that the Clemson brand is as strong as its ever been. The Tigers just signed players from nine different states in the 2021 class and the head coach says that's just one of the many examples of the kind of culture in place inside the program.

"It just never gets old seeing a young man choose Clemson," Swinney said. "Especially nowadays where our program is, where our brand is. We have a national brand. We can recruit all over the country, from California to Texas. This year I think we had nine states represented in this class. But these are 18 guys that really could have gone anywhere they wanted to go and the fact that they chose to come to Clemson and believe in who we are as people, believe in our philosophy and the culture of our program, just very grateful for that."