Clemson Tigers Finalize Recruiting Class with a Disappointing Ranking

The Clemson Tigers had a disappointing recruiting class for 2025.

Clemson football Coach Dabo Swinney talks about the early period National Signing Day players coming to Clemson, at the Smart Family Media Center Wednesday, December 4, 2024 in Clemson, South Carolina. | Ken Ruinard - staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the Clemson Tigers get set to play in the ACC Title Game against the SMU Mustangs, they also recently finished up their recruiting class for 2025. 

It has been a pretty wild year for the Tigers in 2024. After a horrific start to the season in their opener, they went on to build some nice momentum heading toward to the end of the season. However, a loss to the Louisville Cardinals looked like it was going to result in them missing their conference championship game due to tiebreakers. 

Fortunately, Clemson got a little lucky and saw the Miami Hurricanes miss their opportunity to clinch a spot in the title game, and the Tigers snuck in. While the team is certainly focused on winning the conference and getting a spot in the College Football Playoff, the program also just wrapped up their recruiting class for 2025. 

Despite Clemson being in the Top-25 this year, it was a disappointing recruiting class overall. The class was ranked 26th overall in the country, with 15 players coming. Head coach Dabo Swinney spoke about some of the challenges in recruiting of late due to changes in how college football operates. 

“It has been, as we all know, an unusual year,” he said to Will Vandervort of the Clemson Insider. “I would say the past four years have been kind of COVID, a lot of changes in college (athletics) with NIL, the (transfer) portal. You name it across the board. “This has probably been the most chaotic time ever for a student-athlete,” Swinney said. I think we are probably heading out of that and into maybe the best time ever to be a student-athlete. I really believe that, I think this is going to be an unbelievable time to be a student-athlete starting next year with some actual order, great opportunity and probably a new government structure coming at some point over the next year or so.”

While it was one of the worst classes ranking-wise for the Tigers in years, they did get a five-star player in the trenches that they hope will help in the near future in defensive tackle Amare Adams. 

Even though it might not be one of the better classes for Swinney and Clemson, they do have the ability to improve using the transfer portal after Monday. The Tigers and Swinney haven’t been big in terms of NIL or the portal, but times are changing and Clemson will need to as well to keep up.