With such a rich history, the Clemson football program has undoubtedly cemented itself as one of the best programs in the country in terms of recruiting.

Since 2005, the Tigers have had just two classes finish outside the top 20 in the 247Sports class rankings. However, even with such a high level of success, every school is bound to have a few swings and misses.

With every surefire first-round pick comes a five-star that didn’t quite pan out and Clemson has had a few.

WR Roscoe Crosby

Outside of future MLB Hall of Famer Joe Mauer, the 2001 recruiting class was filled with stars on the offensive side of the ball.

Excluding Mauer, five of the top six offensive recruits had successful college careers and were drafted into the NFL. The sixth was Clemson wide receiver Roscoe Crosby, who recorded just 396 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers before deciding to pursue a short-lived professional baseball career.

RB Demarkcus Bowman

Bowman was one of five five-star recruits in Clemson’s 2020 recruiting class, alongside Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy, DJ Uiagalelei and Trenton Simpson. While the other four have gone on to have highly successful college careers, Bowman has struggled to find a home.

The Sunshine State native carried the ball nine times for just 32 yards in two games as a Tiger before transferring to Florida, where he recorded 14 carries for 81 yards.

After two failed stints at the Power Five level, Bowman transferred to UCF. However, even for the Knights, Bowman has not yet seen any action.

QB Hunter Johnson

Before Trevor Lawrence arrived at Clemson, five-star quarterback Hunter Johnson was a favorite to steal the job from Kelly Bryant and take the helm of the Tiger offense.

However, things never panned out for the former No. 1 quarterback recruit, who never started a game for the Tigers before transferring to Northwestern after one season.

During his time with the Wildcats, Johnson recorded just 856 yards and six total touchdowns in eight starts over two years. But after losing the job, Johnson transferred once again, this time back to Clemson as a graduate transfer.

Dear Old Clemson has added the Tiger Sack Pack to our online store.  Save by getting the Two Pack of signed cards from two of the nation’s top defensive ends, Myles Murphy and Xavier Thomas.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 

Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.

Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”

Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”

Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!