Dabo Swinney climbed up on his soapbox for a minute last Wednesday to make his case against the star-rating system.

“I think the interesting thing about recruiting — I just think it’s all backwards,” he said. “To me, what we should be doing today, we should be coming out and assigning stars to the guys that came in four and five years ago. Their star should be assigned today.”

Up next in our multi-part series on Clemson’s past recruiting classes is the 2010 haul.

According to Rivals: A five-star prospect is considered to be one of the nation’s top 25-30 players, four star is a top 250-300 or so player, three-stars is a top 750 level player, two stars means the player is a mid-major prospect and one star means the player is not ranked.

The ranking system ranks prospects on a numerical scale from 6.1-4.9.

6.1 Franchise Player; considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation’s top 25 players overall; deemed to have excellent pro potential; high-major prospect

6.0-5.8 All-American Candidate; high-major prospect; considered one of the nation’s top 300 prospects; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team

5.7-5.5 All-Region Selection; considered among the region’s top prospects and among the top 750 or so prospects in the country; high-to-mid-major prospect; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team

5.4-5.0 Division I prospect; considered a mid-major prospect; deemed to have limited pro potential but definite Division I prospect; may be more of a role player

4.9 Sleeper; no Rivals.com expert knew much, if anything, about this player; a prospect that only a college coach really knew about

Josh Watson – 4-star DT (6.0)

After a redshirt in 2010, Watson played just 21 snaps during his first season on the field. He started a career-high nine games and finished first on the team among defensive linemen with 54 tackles as a sophomore.

For his career, Watson had 148 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 1,215 snaps over 44 games (19 starts). He signed an undrafted free-agent deal with the Broncos after he finished at Clemson.

As is the case with many prep school players during that time, Watson’s rating was a bit generous. However, he was still a productive player for the Tigers.

Darius Robinson – 4-star DB (5.8)

Robinson played just 73 snaps as a freshman in 2010 before he became a starter for the rest of his career. The 2011 and 2012 seasons were cut short by injuries. As a senior, Robinson started every game, including the Orange Bowl win over Ohio State. In 1,371 career snaps, he had 70 tackles and six interceptions.

The Bills signed him as an undrafted free-agent. Though his pro career was short-lived, Robinson enjoyed a productive four-year run at Clemson, even with the injuries. The Rivals rating was pretty accurate.

Garry Peters – 4-star DB (5.8)

The start of Peters’ career began with a redshirt, and there were some stretches when it looked like he wouldn’t live up to the four-star billing. It didn’t help that he was a regular in Dabo Swinney’s dog house over the years.

Peters played 12 snaps in 2011 before logging over 700 as a sophomore and junior. As a senior in 2014, he was first-team All-ACC, according to the league’s coaches. Peters had 52 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 15 pass breakups and an interception that season.

The Panthers signed him as an undrafted free-agent. He certainly lived up to his 5.8 billing during his final season at Clemson. The other three years — not so much.

Justin Parker – 4-star LB (5.8)

Parker had 19 tackles in 90 snaps over 23 career games. His career was cut short after 2011, when he retired from football because of injuries.

DeAndre Hopkins – 4-star WR (5.8)

Hopkins ended his career as an all-time great. He caught 206 passes for 3,020 yards and 27 touchdowns. When he left for the NFL, he was first in school history in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and 100-yard receiving games.

A first-round draft pick by the Texans in 2013, Hopkins has emerged as one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. After breaking out with 52 catches for 802 yards as a rookie, Hopkins has gone over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons.

Selected to the Pro Bowl in 2015, Hopkins caught 111 passes for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns. A 6.1 Rivals rating would have been more appropriate.

Desmond Brown – 4-star DB (5.8)

Brown transferred to Jacksonville State after he was dismissed from the program in Clemson during the 2011 season. He appeared in nine games as a special teams player.

Tavaris Barnes – 4-star DT (5.8)

Barnes saw an increase in playing time as his career progressed. After a redshirt in 2010, he played 73 snaps in 2011, 232 in 2012 and 292 in 2013. He started a career-high three games in 2014.

Splitting time between defensive end and defensive tackle, Barnes had 64 career tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.

As a rookie with the Saints in 2015, Barnes appeared in 12 games. Based on his production at Clemson, Barnes may have been slightly overrated by Rivals.

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