History Suggests Clemson's 2023 Recruiting Class Could Be Bigger Than Most

Clemson has routinely signed smaller recruiting classes under Dabo Swinney when compared to most of the other major college football programs.

A deeper look inside those numbers, though, shows that every fourth season, the Tigers bring in what's considered a full class. In 2011, Swinney signed 29 players. In 2015 it was 25, and in 2019, it was again 29. If history holds true, Clemson's 2023 class will be one of the bigger ones.

However, with so much having changed in recent years, it's unclear at this time exactly how many players the Tigers will be looking to bring into the fold in the next recruiting class. The new transfer rules, along with the extra year of eligibility given to all players in 2020, make it much more difficult to plan for the future.

"Unless there's some changes, it will be difficult, but with the COVID year, I mean, you just don't know," Swinney said on Wednesday when asked about the potential size of the 2023 class. "It's hard to go to a young man right now and say, 'can you tell me what you're going to be thinking 14 months from now' or whatever. That's just not real feasible. And I'm committed to the kids here, always have been. So, we'll figure it out."

The head coach said that while he might have an idea of what the next class might look like size-wise, planning for a specific number this far out would be pointless, given the current landscape of college football.

"I mean, we could have a kind of a working base," Swinney said. "And then obviously, your roster could change and that could change the number. But it's really, really difficult for anybody to predict what you're going to sign in the class of '23."

Coming into the 2022 recruiting cycle, the Tigers were looking at signing somewhere between 18-20 players. After Brent Venables' departure for Oklahoma, Clemson lost three defensive commitments and a fourth did not sign as originally planned, leaving the Tigers with just 12 signees. As it stands currently, Swinney's team is looking at being around, at a minimum, ten players short of the 85-man limit, but the head coach will attempt to fill out the class between now and the February 3 signing day.

There's also bound to be more attrition between now and the start of spring practice. Players leaving early for the NFL Draft, or just up and deciding to transfer. The Tigers have already lost nine players to the portal since the start of the current season, just more example of what makes planning for the next class that much more difficult.

"It's really kind of a month-to-month type of deal based on your current situation," Swinney said. "And again, the COVID, there's no way to predict who's going to want that extra year. Like for example, B.T. (Potter). He walks in my office yesterday and says, 'you got a scholarship for me to come back? Yeah.' So who is that next year? And we didn't have a big group this year, so who is that next year though? I mean, it's a challenge for us in '23 because we got a little different roster makeup. And it's hard for them. You can't ask them to make a decision that far in advance when they have no idea what their circumstances are gonna be at that time."

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