ACC recruiting rankings: How Clemson’s class stacks up in ACC

Even though Clemson had a rather strong finish to fill out the remainder of its 2022 recruiting class, recruiting services are still split on which ACC team put together the best haul.

The Tigers signed a 2022 class that ranks No. 10 in the country by Rivals and No. 11 by 247Sports. It just so happens that North Carolina’s class is ranked No. 10 by 247Sports and No. 11 by Rivals.

The two schools underwent their fair share of recruiting battles on the trail, but they are also neck and neck in terms of how the rankings have shaken out.

When recruiting rankings were finalized at the conclusion of Wednesday’s National Signing Day, Clemson’s 2022 class finished four spots ahead of the ACC’s third-ranked class — Miami’s 15th-ranked haul — in 247Sports’ rankings and 10 spots ahead of the conference’s third-highest ranked class (Florida State, No. 20) in Rivals’ rankings.

Both 247Sports and Rivals have the same ranking — No. 20 — for Florida State’s class, but where they differ is how they rank the University of Miami. 247Sports ranks Miami with having the 15th best class, while Rivals has the Hurricanes ranked No. 34.

This year, Clemson’s 2022 class features two five-star prospects, eight four-star prospects and eight three-star prospects, per the 247Sports Composite. At the same time, North Carolina also signed two five-star prospects and eight four-star prospects.

Clemson signed 20 prospects to its 2022 class, while North Carolina signed 17. The Tigers’ class totaled 21 total players, as they signed Hunter Johnson as their lone transfer portal signee.

In addition, Clemson’s average star rating of 3.45 in the 2022 class, per Rivals, was behind that of North Carolina’s 3.71 average star rating. 

While the Tigers didn’t dominate the ACC on the field, as they have in recent years — dropping games to both N.C. State and Pitt — they were still able to put together one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.

Unfortunately for Clemson, Mack Brown and UNC have started to gain some ground on the recruiting trail, including winning some battles for five-star defensive tackle Travis Shaw and four-star wide receiver Andre Greene, Jr.

Time will tell if those results will translate to the field. 

Even though this was supposed to be a down year for Clemson, it still won 10 games and put together one of the nation’s best recruiting classes.

Sure, the Tigers were able to sign more star power during the early signing period, but as Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has indicated and repeated several times now, the Tigers were fortunate to finish out this class as they did.