Clemson Football Sees Their Class of 2025 Drop in Latest Recruiting Rankings

After getting off to a great start in the class of 2025 rankings, Clemson has now seen themselves fall a bit in the updated list.

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney speaks with media / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Recruiting has been the lifeblood of Clemson football since Dabo Swinney took over and turned this program into a national power.

Landing top talent across the country and developing them into stars at the collegiate level has allowed them to put plenty of players into the NFL and made them an even more attractive destination for high school prospects.

With Swinney not using the transfer portal and not being as forward-thinking regarding NIL, the ability for the Tigers to maintain their stronghold on the recruiting trail is going to be paramount for them to stay at the top of the college football landscape.

It seemed like Clemson was on their way to doing just that in the class of 2025.

Sitting with a consensus Top 5 group for a while during this cycle, things were bound to change after the summer months when uncommitted players were taking their official visits and ultimately deciding which schools they are going to play for in college.

In On3's updated Industry Ranking, Clemson finds themselves sitting at No. 7 overall.

That's not bad by any means, but there is some thought that to make up for the lack of additional talent coming in via the portal, the Tigers need to have Top 5 classes every year.

13 total players are committed to Clemson right now, so there is a chance they can add more to boost the profile of this class before the rankings are solidified. Out of those commits, 11 of them are considered four-stars and two are three-stars. They have not been able to land the coveted five-star athlete thus far, but their best recruit is Ari Watford who is right on the edge as the No. 34 player in the class.

Clemson got some tough news during many of their recruitment processes during the summer months.

Some of their top targets wound up choosing other programs around the country, something that wasn't happening a whole lot when the Tigers were at the top of their game nationally.

This will be something to keep an eye on going forward, especially if Swinney continues to shun the transfer portal.