By Ed McGranahan.

Recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill of ESPN believes Clemson did a great job of meeting its needs with highly regarded talent.

Clemson lost six seniors off its highly regarded defensive line, two top receivers who enrolled last January and were already thin at quarterback and along the offensive line last season, so this wasn’t about reloading. The urgency was evident.

“There’s a lot to be excited about if you’re a Clemson fan right now,” Luginbill said. “Some of these guys are probably going to be asked to play or compete for playing time.

“This is a team that’s going to lose their entire two-deep on the defensive front and then you go look at what they’ve gone out and done,” he said. “The top seven or eight guys, they’re interior front guys on either side of the ball.”

Clemson signed seven defensive linemen, four offensive linemen, three receivers and two quarterbacks. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said on Wednesday the results represent the consistency and the steady climb he hoped to achieve.

“Filling that need not just with guys but with the right guys, I think we knocked it out of the park,” he said. “We have a talented team returning, some really experienced players with a lot of success. I think that with the addition of this class we’ll have the competitive depth that we really need to continue to take our program to another level. You need that year in and year out.”

Critical to next season was the decision by 15 from this year’s class to enroll in January and participate in winter conditioning and spring practice, which begins March 2. The time should be most useful to the quarterbacks and offensive line, both of whom face a long learning curve.

“Spring practice is a big part of the overall development of your football team,” Swinney said. “Very rarely, if ever, do you have the majority of your team out for spring practice.

“For us, the majority of our class is here.”

Watching Kelly Bryant from nearby Wren High and Tucker Israel from Lake Nona (Fla.) High battle returning backup Nick Schussler during the spring should be interesting with starter Deshaun Watson continuing to recover from a torn ACL sustained initially at Georgia Tech.

Tackle Mitch Hyatt of North Gwinnett (Ga.) High was ESPN’s top-rated offensive lineman.

Even with the three receivers, Swinney said Clemson’s numbers are down but it shouldn’t be an issue. Deon Cain and Ray Ray McCloud III should press for time immediately, Cain as a long, athletic receiver initially behind Mike Williams, McCloud a versatile speedster who can take those inside pitches and turn them into big gains like Artavis Scott.

“You can add the skill. You can add a Ray Ray McCloud, a Deon Cain and some of those guys,” Swinney said, “but it’s the Christian Wilkins and the Sterling Johnsons and the Noah Greens and the Mitch Hyatts (who) at the end of the day are going to make the difference.”

This would be Clemson’s fifth straight consensus top 15 class.

“To me, it represents consistency. We have really become a consistent program in all areas,” Swinney said.

Swinney blanched at the suggestion that Clemson was chasing Florida State’s talent.

“I know where we are as a program, and we certainly have respect for every team in the conference,” he said. “We are not chasing Florida State. That’s not our focus. We’re trying to be the best Clemson and do

it our way.

“I never dreamed of us just being relevant in the ACC,” he continued. “We want to be nationally relevant.”