Swinney says Tigers helped themselves with strong recruiting class

Swinney speaks with the media Wednesday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Feb 02 16:29:14 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Head coach Dabo Swinney believes the Tigers have signed another special group after adding another group of signees Wednesday to the 2022 recruiting class.

Swinney met with the media to discuss the class.

"Been a great day for us, a little more action than maybe we've had the last few years. Signed 12 in December, nine were midyears and they're off to a great start. Been fun to see them get acclimated and really seem to be doing very well,” Swinney said. "Today, we still got a decision being made at 4:30 p.m. (4-star LB TJ Dudley committed to Clemson around then) so one more out there. This should put our class in the 20-21 range, which is just what we need. Going to add 11 really good walk-on players.

"As always, time will tell, but I do believe this group will be another special group and will help us be a great program on and off the field and help us continue to be consistent in everything we did. Every year, when we go recruit we have specific needs and there is a process and there are lots of twists and turns as you go through the recruiting process, but we get the guys we are supposed to get. The objective is to add talent and depth to your roster. It's always critical to fill the specific needs that you have and this class has been able to do that.”

Once again, Clemson’s reach extends outside of South Carolina, with ten states represented.

“Our brand continues to be strong and attract interest from all over the country. This was a great year for us in the state of South Carolina,” Swinney said. “It's not often that you have the amount of numbers that we had this year in our state, so to be able to have the success that we had is certainly critical for us.

“We signed two quarterbacks, a running back, two offensive linemen, a tight end, three receivers, two defensive linemen, two to three linebackers, a couple of safeties, three corners, a kicker, and a punter. So we touched all of the bases that we needed to touch in this class for sure. Nine offensive guys, two specialists, and either nine or ten defensive guys when the day comes to an end.”

"Ten states represent this class, so our brand continues to be strong and attract interest from all over. But it starts right here for us, and it was a great year for us in South Carolina recruiting,” Swinney said. "Very excited about the start to 2023 (recruiting). Really think we have some good momentum there. We've established some good relationships."

Swinney credited his staff with a strong finish.

“There was a lot of hard work that went into this class,” he said. “Especially when you have the amount of transition that we had this year. But they did an amazing job.”

Notes

Head football trainer Danny Poole, who has been at Clemson for almost 40 years, is retiring from being full-time trainer. Will transition to a different role for the athletic department at Clemson and work for new AD Graham Neff.

On the NIL helping with recruiting

"I wouldn't say it helped us. We're never going to recruit only to the NIL. We certainly are going to participate. But we always lead with who we are as a program. I don't think many people will come to Clemson, or at least I hope they don't, because of the NIL. But rather come for the people they want to be around.

"We are building a facility for the NIL going outside the weight room, just like we build P.A.W. Journey with a living, breathing space. It will help our players navigate it. Our job is to help them maximize opportunities and equip them. We have a whole team (in athletic department) set up dedicated for that as well. When kids come here for visits, that's part of our process, but we aren't going to lead with it. It's just one of the things we cover, like nutrition, business school, whatever it is. “