Chasing top class: Clemson working on a high-talent, high-character group

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has done things his way on the recruiting trail. The Tigers continue to be on the lower end of the total number of offers extended.

That hasn’t slowed the Tigers down on the recruiting trail. The last week has seen Clemson surge up the recruiting rankings. Since the weekend of official visits last week, Clemson has landed a commitment each day this week.

The Tigers added commitments from four-star Ian Reed, Avieon Terrell, Olson Henry and three-star athlete Kylen Webb.

The Tigers now are the No. 8 overall team in the 2023 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings. They could surge even more in the coming weeks.

The 2022 class was the first Clemson recruiting class that did not finish in the top five in the country. The 2023 class could be in a position to change that.

The current commits look at it more deeply than that. Fit and character are the key factors to building a Clemson football team. Their recruits see that as well. The No.1 recruiting class would be great, but the Tigers have more on their minds than the rankings.

“That’s what we want to build,” four-star quarterback commit Christopher Vizzina told On3. “We also want to build a class that has high character and great work ethic. If you can ball, you can ball. We don’t care how many stars you have.”

Clemson is landing their guys.

“We feel very excited about the class,” four-star cornerback Terrell said. “We’re getting the ones we want.”

Many of the commits that have announced this week were on campus last weekend. Clemson’s culture is winning players over once they get on campus.

Seeing how things operate in person is a winning selling point.

“I feel that the others recruits were able to see the type of coach the Dabo (Swinney) is and the love he feels for his players,” cornerback commit Branden Strozier said. “They were able to see everything that Clemson has to offer. That’s something that is hard to pass on.”