By Hale McGranahan.

Clemson and Florida State have put together some of the nation’s strongest recruiting classes with Dabo Swinney and Jimbo Fisher running the respective programs.

But as good as the Tigers have been on the recruiting trail, the Seminoles have been a little bit better over the last half-decade or so. That, in part, has helped propel Florida State to the next level of success.

A number of players that were heavily recruited by Clemson helped Florida State win last year’s National Championship; and there were plenty of former Florida State recruiting targets on 2013 Clemson team that won the Orange Bowl.

There are plenty of once coveted players on each team’s depth chart for the Saturday night showdown in Doak Campbell Stadium.

FLORIDA STATE OFFENSE

Among the eight linemen on Florida State’s offensive side of the ball, right tackle Bobby Hart was the only one to receive an offer from Clemson and express interest in the Tigers. Left tackle Cameron Erving had a Clemson offer, but he was an early pledge to Florida State.

The freshmen Z-wide receivers, Travis Rudolph and Ermon Lane, received offers from Clemson, but neither had much interest in the Tigers.

Starting Y-receiver, Kermit Whitfield, and starting X-receiver Rashad Greene are similar to their freshmen position-mates: They’re from the state of Florida, were offered by Clemson, but weren’t all that interested in heading to the Upstate of South Carolina to play college ball.

Jameis Winston picked up an offer from Clemson and was recruited by former defensive backs coach Charlie Harbison. While there was some interest, it never materialized into much more than that. In 2012, the year Winston signed with Florida State, Clemson landed four-star signal caller Chad Kelly.

Backup fullback Jonathan Vickers, a high school teammate of Travis Blanks, camped at Clemson, but never received an offer from the Tigers.

Dalvin Cook was ready to commit to Clemson before he even stepped foot on campus — the Miami native was a big C.J. Spiller fan. Cook officially committed to Clemson while visiting in June before his junior year, but that pledge lasted for less than a year. After opening his recruiting back up, Cook signed with Florida State over Florida.

FLORIDA STATE DEFENSE

Four of the eight defensive linemen on the Florida State depth chart were offered by Clemson and expressed interest in the Tigers: Starting defensive end Derrick Mitchell, starting defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, backup defensive tackle Giorgio Newberry and backup JACK defensive end DeMarcus Walker.

Mitchell, who was a high school teammate of Clemson defensive end Tavaris Barnes, was offered by the Tigers shortly after Barnes flipped his commitment from Florida State.

Goldman was a five-star prospect out of Washington D.C. when he visited Clemson in the spring of his junior year. The Tigers were a factor, but were never able to get him back on campus for an official visit.

Newberry was recruited to Clemson by former offensive line coach Brad Scott, but went on to commit in the fall of his senior year. Several schools continued to recruit Newberry, including Tennessee, which hosted him for an official visit.

Of the four, Walker had the most interest in Clemson. He visited multiple times, including a trip to the first All-In Cookout. A few weeks after his Cookout visit, Walker committed to Alabama. After a few twists and turns, he wound up signing with Florida State.

During the 2012 signing haul, Clemson made a late push for starting middle linebacker Reggie Northrup. The former First Coast High School (Jacksonville, Florida) was committed to Miami when he took his final official visit to Clemson. UNC and Arkansas were also in the mix when he signed with the Seminoles on signing day.

Terrance Smith was a highly recruited linebacker out of Southwest Dekalb High School in Georgia. His dad, Terry, was a standout wide receiver at Clemson, so was his cousin, DeAndre Hopkins. Smith visited Clemson after he was committed to Florida State, but opted to stick with that pledge.

Clemson was a finalist for cornerback Ronald Darby, who was one of the most coveted prospects in the class of 2012. The Tigers were able to get him on campus for his final official visit. But, on signing day, the one-time Notre Dame commitment inked with Florida State.

CLEMSON DEFENSE

Defensive backs Jayron Kearse and Mackensie Alexander both hail from the state of Florida, but neither had much interest in the Seminoles. Kearse was committed to Miami and Auburn before he switched his allegiance to Clemson.

Tony Steward was thought to be a lock to Florida State before he went on to pull the trigger and sign with Clemson on signing day in 2011. Steward’s mom wanted him to stay instate and take his talents to Tallahassee.

Barnes, who attended First Coast High School in Jacksonville, flipped to Clemson after being committed to Florida State for close to seven months.

Florida State was one of several schools to offer Stephone Anthony, who picked Clemson over Virginia Tech, Florida and UNC. The Seminoles never received much interest from the former five-star prospect.

CLEMSON OFFENSE

Like so many others, Florida State was late to the party for Deshaun Watson. Clemson was one of the first offers for Watson, who committed to the Tigers on signing day when he was a sophomore.

Even though Florida State never offered Wayne Gallman, he was very interested in the Seminoles. Clemson, the long-time favorite for Gallman, ended up picking up a commitment during his junior year.

Demarre Kitt received an offer from Florida State, but never had much interest in playing his college ball in Tallahassee. The one-time Georgia commitment eventually flipped to Clemson and was rock solid with his pledge to the Tigers.

Artavis Scott camped at Florida State a couple of different times during his high school career. But, as things picked up in his recruitment, there wasn’t much interest from Scott, despite the offer from the Seminoles.