Thomas Austin didn’t realize how much negative recruiting went on until he got on the recruiting trail.
That’s nothing new to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who met with the media Friday afternoon as the Tigers opened fall camp, and was asked about teams negatively recruiting against the Tigers on the trail.
“I think we’re recruiting pretty good,” Swinney said, “so they ain’t negative enough, I don’t guess. Again, it’s one of those things you don’t control. I mean, just be who you are…focus on being who you are, and be transparent. I think we’re doing alright recruiting.”
The results are there.
Clemson is fresh off signing the nation’s No. 10 recruiting class and is working on the No. 8-ranked class for 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite. Briarwood Christian (Alabama) School five-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina and Thompson (Alabama) High five-star defensive lineman Peter Woods headline a group of 18 verbal commits so far for the Tigers, 15 of which have joined the class since June.
In the age of NIL, Swinney hasn’t changed his approach. And as shown above, it’s working.
“No different than it’s been since I’ve been here,” Swinney said regarding his approach with Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class. “Just looking for teams and families that value what we offer. The same philosophy that we’ve always had, no different. We’re right where we’ve always been. Probably by Sept. 1, we’ll be percentage-wise, where we’ve always been, as far as the completion of the class.”
“Honestly, we just kept the main thing the main thing,” he added. “We don’t offer a lot of guys. I think we’re the fourth fewest offers in the country. We don’t try to be all things to all people. We believe in who we are and how we do things. I think the more chaotic it’s gotten, the better it’s been for us from a recruiting standpoint. Excited about where we are.”