For the first time since 2014, Clemson won’t play in the ACC championship game. So instead of putting in work on the practice field, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and some of his assistants have spent the week on the road recruiting.
Exactly how many prospects do the Tigers plan to bring in with their 2022 recruiting haul when it’s all said and done? Because of new NCAA legislation added at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s a bit of a moving target.
When college sports’ governing body granted all fall-sport athletes an extra year of eligibility regardless if they competed or not last season, it also lightened up on the 85 total scholarships each college football team is normally limited to each season. The eligibility relief created the possibility of “super seniors,” a label given to any seniors last season who decided to take advantage of the free year of eligibility by returning this fall.
The NCAA ruled those super seniors would not count toward their team’s scholarship limit, but that exemption only applied to this season. Starting next year, teams will have to get back to no more than 85 scholarship players on their roster, which would include any juniors during the 2020 season who still have two years of eligibility left and may decide to return for one more year.
Yet Clemson isn’t going to have to do any excess trimming.
With a bowl game still left to play, the Tigers are waiting on decisions from some of their seniors who can still use that COVID-19 year if they choose, including defensive ends K.J. Henry and Xavier Thomas. But even with a handful of super seniors on this year’s roster, including starters James Skalski and Nolan Turner, Clemson began this season with just 80 scholarship players.
“We’re in a great place,” Swinney said.
Five of those players (Lyn-J Dixon, Michel Dukes, Joseph Charleston, Paul Tchio and Kane Patterson) have left the program since then. Swinney said a handful of other scholarship players who could return for another season are planning not to, and that doesn’t include receiver Justyn Ross and defensive backs Andre Booth and Mario Goodrich, all of whom plan to skip out on another season in college to get ready for the NFL Draft.
As things currently stand, Clemson is set to lose roughly 17 scholarship players after this season. The Tigers have nearly matched that number already in their recruiting class with 14 verbal commitments. Add the five scholarships Clemson had available at the start of the season, and that leaves the Tigers with roughly eight more players they could add to their 2022 recruiting class without exceeding the scholarship limit.
That’s assuming all of the Tigers’ commits, which, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, make up the nation’s No. 10 recruiting class, follow through and sign with Clemson over the next couple of months. A three-day early signing period will begin Dec. 15 before the regular signing period starts the first Wednesday in February.
The NCAA provided more relief last month when it approved a one-year waiver to the 25 scholarships teams are normally limited to in each recruiting cycle in order to allow them to replace up to seven transfers during the fall semester. Teams would still be required to stay at or below 85 total scholarships if they do that.
That doesn’t mean the Tigers have to fill all of their remaining spots. In fact, Swinney said they only plan to sign anywhere from 17 to 20 players in the current recruiting cycle, but that could change given the fluidity of the transfer market.
Clemson could have more scholarship players enter the transfer portal any time over the next handful of months. If it happens after the Tigers have already put the finishing touches on their current recruiting class in February, they may have to dip into the portal themselves, something Swinney has never done during his time at Clemson.
“We’ll use the portal if it’s something that we have to,” Swinney said. “It’s not been a need for us at this point. If it ever becomes a need, we’ll address it strategically. It’ll have to be the right fit and all of that.
“Obviously every day is a new day in the recruiting world. I love our class that’s coming in. We’re always going to be a developmental program, but if we can’t address a need with high school kids and there’s a gap somewhere, we’ll always look at that as an option.”
Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.
Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks
