The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clemson’s recent titles leading to more recruiting victories
Clemson’s impressive run of recent success on the football field is paying dividends on the recruiting trail.
After winning two of the last three national titles, Clemson is putting together its highest-rated recruiting class ever as high school seniors across the country finalize their college selections during the early signing period that begins today.
Clemson has commitments from seven of the nation’s top 29 prospects according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports. Clemson leads the 247Sports team recruiting rankings.
“This class is just ridiculous,’” said Mike Farrell, the Rivals national director of recruiting.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has signed plenty of elite players before. Clemson’s current roster features seven former five-star prospects, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence, from Cartersville.
But the Tigers have never assembled a class quite like this one. The 247Sports Composite team rankings go back as far as 2008, and Clemson has never finished higher than seventh. This year, Clemson is competing with Alabama and LSU for first place.
247Sports director of scouting Barton Simmons notes that Clemson typically doesn’t have as much roster attrition as other powers, so the Tigers often end up with smaller classes. Simmons also says Clemson sometimes pursues prospects whose star ratings might not accurately measure how they’ll fit into the program.
“In order to ensure they’re getting the right guys from a culture standpoint, they’re willing to take prospects who from a talent level, the Alabamas of the world don’t want,” Simmons said. “This year those guys (who fit) happen to be players who are really good as well.”
Five-star prospects committed to Clemson include defensive tackles Bryan Bresee (ranked No. 1 overall) and Demonte Capehart (No. 24), defensive end Myles Murphy (No. 3), quarterback D J Uiagalelei (No. 13), running back Demarkcus Bowman (No. 16), cornerback Fred Davis II (No. 26) and outside linebacker Trenton Simpson (No. 29).
Murphy says he isn’t surprised about the talent Clemson has accumulated. Although the defensive end from Powder Springs Hillgrove says he grew up an Alabama fan, Murphy indicates he started thinking about Clemson after visiting the campus before his sophomore year. Murphy called Clemson “the type of school where they try to make it as much like home as possible.”
Here are some other stories to watch as the early signing period kicks off.
■ Who’s left: Five of the top seven prospects according to the 247Sports Composite already have committed to schools: Bresee (Clemson), wide receiver Julian Fleming (Ohio State), Murphy (Clemson), quarterback Bryce Young (Alabama) and offensive tackle Paris Johnson
Jr. (Ohio State). The top uncommitted prospects are No. 4 Justin Flowe and No. 5 Jordan Burch. USC and Oregon are among the schools pursuing Flowe, a linebacker from Upland, Calif. Burch, a defensive end from Columbia, S.C., is considering Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Clemson and LSU.
■ Team standings: Clemson is first in the 247Sports Composite team standings heading into the early signing period, followed closely by Alabama and LSU. Ohio State, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Auburn and Texas make up the rest of the top 10.
■ West Coast heads east: Four of the top six prospects in California have committed to SEC schools or Clemson: Young (Alabama), Uiagalelei (Clemson), running back Kendall Milton (Georgia) and wide receiver Jermaine Burton (LSU).