Clemson Junior Day… Dabo Staying Old School

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers had a fantastic Junior Day. This us usually a day where Dabo is very successful and this is another one of those years for him. He got three big time recruits to commit in Isaiah Campbell, Jaylan Beckley and Brayden Jacobs. All three of them are high four-star recruits. With Beckley and Jacobs as OL recruits, Dabo and Matt Luke get early commits to an offensive line that has been a soft spot on the Clemson roster for the past few years. Beckley and Jacobs will join Harris Sewell and Ian Reed from the previous cycle as four star recruits on the OL. Clemson seems to be be hyper focused on building out their offensive line depth to address that weak spot through high school recruiting.

Several reports and interviews from the juniors on campus have cited the culture of Clemson football being a huge reason to commit to the Tigers and a big reason why they have Clemson as one of their top choices. Never more so evident as to the shocking commitment of Jaylan Beckley. Not shocking in that Beckley committed, but how Beckley committed. As reported by David Hood at Tigernet, Coach Swinney was addressing the recruits and had asked if there were any questions. Beckley raised his hand and asked if he could commit right there on the spot. Beckley said everyone was so excited and there was a room full of cheering. Dabo was also very animated and psyched to hear that as well. Later on, another commitment was followed up by Brayden Jacobs in a similar fashion at dinner.

To say the least, this event was very successful, garnering three commits and leaving several other recruits with Clemson very high on their list of choices.

This brings Clemson’s recruiting class of 2025 to the #2 rank nationally. While this is still very early, this has been a red hot start for Clemson. The last ten cycles of recruiting classes, Clemson averages 9.3, so they typically recruit at a top ten level but not at the top 5 level like schools named Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State who typically round out the top three every year. There have been two top five classes for Clemson over that span, so it’s definitely within the range of their capabilities however typically they fall into the that latter end of the top ten.

While this is still early for Clemson, these initial results make me believe Clemson is ready to push it into the next gear for high school recruiting. This could potentially be Dabo’s best class. Given Dabo’s lack of interest in tapping into the transfer portal to fill in holes and spots, being a maniacal recruiter at the high school ranks is their best shot at staying a team that competes for a national title.

This also probes the question, is Dabo’s approach going to play out for him in the long run? Will being inactive in the acquisition game in the transfer portal lead to more immediate strikes in the loss columns in future years? My thought is yes. I think, in short term, not acquiring talent in the transfer portal immediately puts your team at a disadvantage when competing on the field. The best programs such as Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama use the portal as a supplement to high school recruiting. Their team is not built through the transfer portal but rather sealed through the portal. Not utilizing this acquisition tool comes as an immediate disadvantage for Clemson on the field.

However, all that said, we have reached an interesting point in this transfer portal era. Thousands of kids enter the portal every year and almost half of them don’t find a home. Dabo’s “old school” approach of putting all his eggs in the high school recruiting basket could be what some of these kids are looking for. As the transfer portal matures and we understand more about the value of a player who enters, joining a program that doesn’t immediately hold a threat over a players head of bringing in a transfer portal guy to take over the starting role provides a sense of security and faith in the program for these kids. Dabo is manifesting a culture whose identity is family and growth and development. That is what is being sold to the kids. It seems to be working by the way. Clemson does not usually have a lot of players enter the portal once the window opens. Most of the players stick around. That’s a testament to the culture Dabo has built in Clemson.

Now, we’ve seen a substantial drop off with results on the field. Clemson has not been a title contending team for a few years now. Now, you can’t point to the transfer portal as the only reason for this, however I do believe it is a contributing factor. So the immediate results and data show, plugging gaps via the transfer portal with experienced collegiate level guys, can yield immediate strong results versus waiting for high school recruits to mature into starting players. But i wonder if the pendulum has shifted a bit too far over towards the transfer portal and more of a reliance on high school recruiting will creep back? This is what I believe, what Dabo is hoping to happen. He would be very early to the party here but he believes it may pay off in the long run.

Let’s just entertain he’s right. He is still at a disadvantage by not using the portal in the short term. How will he keep the train moving on the tracks and going fast enough to not have this derail completely? Dabo just posted a 4 loss season for the first time in over a decade. He has re-written standards and expectations at Clemson, whether he likes it or not. Posting another 4 or 5 loss season could be cataclysmic to the Clemson program, especially in the ACC. Addressing coaching changes and providing more experience at position groups is something Dabo has already been intent on. Now coupling that with top 5 recruiting classes will be the best way to ensure this thing doesn’t get out of hand.

There’s a lot of uncommitted top talent left in the 2025 class and many recruits still hold Clemson high. I’m looking forward to seeing where he lands and how the Tigers will fare this 2024 season.