On Wednesday, Clemson opened its brand new $55-million football facility on the same day as the 2017 National Signing Day, where Dabo Swinney officially signed 14 players to the Clemson Tigers’ 2017 football team.

Following the Signing Day Show, Swinney held his first ever press conference in the new building, where he reflected on the 2017 recruiting class and gave us a glimpse of what we should expect to see come the 2017 football season.

Here is what we heard:

Swinney opened his press conference expressing the whirlwind of feelings and emotions he experienced on Wednesday.

“What a great day it’s been. It’s been an unbelievable day in so many ways. A lot of emotions today. From excitement about the new class, excitement and about the new building, excitement about my son (Will Swinney), sadness about my friend (Mike Brown). It’s just been quite a day,” Swinney said.

Despite the emotional roller-coaster, Swinney conveyed his excitement and happiness about the 2017 recruiting class.

“I love it when these guys choose to be a part of our program because we lay it out for them. We don’t sugar coat anything. We’re very open and transparent in how we recruit and talk about our program. It scares a lot of guys off. I believe that’s a good thing,” Swinney said. “It’s exciting because there’s a lot of really talented football players that want to be a part of the way we do things here. That never gets old for me.”

Following Clemson 2016-2017 season, many talented players either graduated or left Clemson’s football program to enter the 2017 NFL Draft. After losing that talent, Swinney said it’s important to bring in the right kind of players to fill those voids.

“We’ve had a lot of really good players that have walked out the door, so it’s critical that we bring in the right folks in the front door,” Swinney said. “We really want championship people and players. We stay disciplined to that and how we go about our business. I really think we’ve done that with this group.”

For the 2017 recruiting class, Swinney signed 14 players. Though the class is small, Swinney said the quality is endless.

“This is the smallest class at Clemson we’ve had since ’09, but another excellent group of quality young men. This is our seventh top-fifteenth class in a row. We’ve become very consistent in how we recruit and really how we do everything,” Swinney said.

Swinney said having the four mid-years come to campus in the spring was important to Clemson’s program. He said it was important to get a head start with those guys.

“The four mid-years we had in the spring is huge for us. A quarterback, two backers, and an offensive lineman,” Swinney said. “I think it’s great to have them on campus and get a head start on them. The rest of the guys will be joining us this summer.”

The breakdown for this year’s group consists of eight guys on offense, including three offensive lineman, two quarterbacks, two receivers, one running back. On the defensive side, Clemson landed two d-ends, two linebackers, and two DB’s, both of them corners.

Swinney said he is very excited about the breakdown of the class.

In the terms of need, Swinney said Travis Etienne, Amari Rodgers and Tee Higgins could contribute early as long as they are mentally ready with Mike Williams, Artavis Scott and Wayne Gallman gone.

“You look at a guy like Tee Higgins. Mike Williams just walked out the door, and here’s a 6-foot-5 guy we’ve had in camp. Same thing with Amari. Artavis is going out, and Amari is a strong, physical guy. Can they grasp it mentally? We’ll see, but I think those guys have a chance to get in there,” Swinney said.

All in all, Swinney expressed how pleased he is with Clemson’s new recruiting class. He believes with this class, Clemson met its needs and will be able to maintain the program’s greatness.

“Really excited about his group. I think this group keeps us moving forward and helps us to continue to have that competitive depth that we like,” Swinney said. “We met our needs, I don’t have any doubt, with this group.”

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