COLLEGE FOOTBALL

National signing day was without the drama and excitement of years past, as the Clemson Tigers’ 2020 recruiting class of 24 signees was finished in December.

But the lack of drama did not dampen the excitement of head coach Dabo Swinney.

“We signed our class in December,” Swinney said. “It is still a fun day to celebrate this amazing group, many of which are already here at Clemson.”

In fact, 15 of the Tigers’ class is already on campus and preparing for their first spring practice session as a college athlete.

“They are off to a great start,” Swinney said. “I do think they will prove to be one of the best groups we’ve had and allow us to continue to be one of the best programs in the country, on and off the field.”

Clemson was unable to make history, as they fell just shy of Swinney’s first-ever No. 1 recruiting class. However, more important than the Tigers’ http://www.GoFlashWin.com final ranking, which finished at No. 3 nationally, is how they develop their players.

“Time will tell (how good the class is),” Swinney said. “We all know this is a developmental game... It is a very subjective process influenced by many, many factors. We try to stay focused on what we are looking for. Sometimes it matches up with what others think.

“We believe this is a special group.”

What cannot be denied: the reach of the Tiger paw.

“Our brand is really strong,” Swinney said. “We’re going to sign kids from 12 different states today and since then we will now have signed kids from 25 different states. So still got a little work to do. Maybe I’ll find one in South Dakota one day, who knows? But you know, it’s just amazing where we’ve got guys from Connecticut and Maryland, 1 each from Connecticut, Maryland, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and California. We’ve got 2 from South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, 3 from Florida and 6 from the state of Georgia. So a really, really good group.

The shift in recruiting from a top-20 program in the rankings to a national leader has come because more kids want to come to Clemson.

“The biggest change is just more people want to come Clemson.” Swinney said. “It’s just an easier conversation. We’ve always reached out to national guys, but my big thing is if it’s too inconvenient for a guy to come visit us unofficially or come to camp then we’re probably not going to get them for 4 years.

“We’ve just had a lot more guys that want to come see us, unofficially, come to camp—whatever it may be. With the exposure to our brand we’ve benefited greatly from the last 5 years.”