There is always a debate in college football over which team has the best recruiting class and how those players will affect the team down the road. While some may believe that this topic is over-debated, the numbers tell a different story.

Over the past four years we have seen the Clemson Tigers go from a team with a high ceiling to a national champion. What made the difference in this jump from good to great? The answer is simple: recruiting.

So how do Clemson’s recruiting classes compare with the best of them? Well, I’ll show you.

I used data from 24/7 Recruiting’s class rating scale, a score calculated by adding up each recruits 24/7 recruiting grades (79 – below = Two-star prospect, 89 – 80 = Three-star prospect, 97 – 90 = Four-star prospect, 100 – 98 = Five-star prospect, 110 – 101 = Franchise Player), as well as overall class grades and final standings to measure how Clemson has measured up against Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State from 2013 and 2016.

Clemson’s average class score was 259.73 to go along with an average ranking of 13.

Alabama slid into the top spot every year with an average score of 312.39.

Ohio State had an average class ranking of four with an average class score of 291.56.

Finally, Florida State had an average class score of 282.59 with an average class rank of five.

Now what do all of these teams have in common? National Championships from 2013-2016. While Clemson’s average class ranking of 13 is impressive, it’s average class score is still 22.86 lower than Florida State.

Yet Clemson is still finishing with impressive results.

The Tigers finished the last four seasons with an average ranking of 8.6.

Alabama had an average final ranking of 3.5, Florida State a 7.25 ranking and Ohio State a 5.75 ranking.

Yes, Clemson is finishing last among these four teams, yet the Tigers are 5-3 against these teams over the last four years as well as finished in the top two in 2015 and 2016.

So how does Clemson’s 2017 class factor into this equation?

Well, Clemson’s score for the 2017 class comes in at 238.31 to go along with Alabama’s 312.69, Ohio State’s 308.78 and Florida State’s 277.3.

I know, I know; from these numbers it may look like this years class is a dud — well let’s look a little deeper.

Clemson only has 14 recruits this year — their lowest total since Tajh Boyd was recruited in 2009. This leaves Clemson at a disadvantage with the class score statistic seeing as Ohio State and Florida State both have 20 recruits and Alabama has 25 recruits.

If you break it down further you can see that Clemson’s recruits actually average a score of 92, a four-star grade. While Ohio State (94) and Alabama (93) are just a hair above the Tigers, Clemson beat out ACC rival Florida State (91) in average recruit grade.

Clemson is gaining ground in the recruiting arena, and the new football facility is just a cherry on top of the sundae that is Dabo Swinney and his championship trophy sitting in Death Valley.

I know that was quite a few numbers, but this year, Clemson’s recruiting class can be summed up by the old phrase “quality over quantity.”

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