Swinney goes in-depth on Clemson’s recruiting philosophy and why it works
By: Gavin Oliver November 28, 2019

Clemson’s recruiting philosophy has not changed since Dabo Swinney became the head coach in 2009. But Clemson’s brand has grown tremendously over the last handful of years as the program has reached new heights, and that is one of the reasons the Tigers have been so successful on the recruiting trail.

Swinney and his staff continue to prioritize pursuits of the best in-state players, then work their way out to top talent across the region. The biggest difference between now and when Swinney took over is that top prospects from all over the country are reaching out to Clemson, not the other way around.

“We’re still an inside-out program, but now we have kids in California that call us and they’re like hey, I want to visit Clemson,” Swinney said on the Tiki and Tierney show on CBS Sports Network this week. “Because we don’t just go to California and recruit. I’d never signed anybody out of Louisiana, and then we get Travis Etienne. I’d never signed anybody out of Kansas, and we get Isaiah Simmons. I’d never signed anybody out of Michigan, now we get… So, all these kids have reached out to us and they want to come see Clemson. And the cool thing is they know so much about us.”

A great example of that is Joseph Ngata, the five-star wide receiver from Folsom, California, who signed with the Tigers last December and became Clemson’s first signee from the Golden State since Bobby Forbes in 1991.

“I’m talking to him and I don’t have to say anything to him about Clemson because he already knows about Clemson, he’s telling me about Clemson,” Swinney said of Ngata. “It’s kind of weird because when you think about it, really since he was 8 years old he just knows this version of Clemson, and our brand has grown so much.

“So probably the last five years, certainly when I got the job back in ’09, we didn’t have people from California calling us to come to Clemson. Nobody knew where Clemson was. Now we’re still ‘little ole Clemson’ but people know who we are and they want to come see it. And the cool thing about it is if you come and see Clemson, you’re going to love it. It is a really cool place.”

Under Swinney, the Tigers have always taken the recruiting process slow and are very thorough in their evaluation before pulling the trigger on a scholarship offer.

Clemson places an emphasis on finding the right prospects that fit the program, and the growth of its brand has allowed the Tigers to be even more selective as they look for recruits that match their culture and core values.

“We’ve been able to slow the process down if you will and not offer very many guys,” Swinney said, “and really be honed in on the guys that obviously they’re good enough, but more importantly they’re the right type of people – they value education, they want our structure, they want the accountability in our program, they want family, they fit what we’re about here, and so it’s been really good. The cool thing is, what I’ve learned is there’s a lot of amazingly talented young people that want family, they want discipline.”

Therein lies the key to Clemson’s success on the field and on the recruiting trail.

“We don’t just sign good players,” Swinney said. “Good players, there’s a million of those. But good players who are great young people who value the things that we offer, then the pool gets smaller. But the neat thing is there’s a lot of amazingly talented guys who really want to come be a part of it. So, we’re slow to offer. We’re very thorough in our evaluation. We’re very committed to the criteria and the fit, and we don’t vary from that and that’s why I think we’ve been able to stay consistent over the long haul.”

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