Clemson’s on-field issues during the massive breakdown at LSU have already been discussed ad nauseam, and rightfully so.
But that kind of beatdown, while looking so out of sorts in the moment, could also easily impact the Tigers’ recruiting efforts.
Dabo Swinney and Co. have put together a pretty solid 2027 class, which still ranks inside the Top 15 at 247Sports, despite picking up its last commitment on July 11. The staff has done a really good job of filling needs in the class at several key spots.
However, after getting the 51-10 beating suffered at the hands of LSU on Saturday night, the real work begins. This coaching staff is going to have to find a way to keep this class together.
It’s unlikely that any one player would decommit based solely on the outcome of a single game, but what happened in Baton Rouge also wasn’t your typical loss. It was a failure of epic proportions and on every level. Clemson not only looked unprepared, but also poorly coached. And for that reason, the vultures might be on the verge of starting to circle.
The Tigers have some highly-touted recruits currently committed. Schools haven’t stopped recruiting guys like four-star DE Desmond Malpress, four-star LB Bryce Kish, four-star DT Seth Tillman, four-star RB Gary Walker, four-star S Jarrell Chandler and four-star QB Kharim Hughley. And those are just a few.
To be clear, no one is claiming any current commit is on the verge of decommitting, but after a loss like the one Clemson was on the receiving end of Saturday night will give any of those schools still recruiting those players more ammunition to use.
Make no mistake, recruiting is much different than it was just five short years ago. Now that money is involved, that has become one of the biggest deciding factors for a lot of guys. And rightfully so. People generally choose the highest-paying job available to them.
However, wanting to play for a winning program still factors in, and heavily for some recruits. After last season’s 7-6 campaign, part of the staff’s mantra to members of this class has been to “take Clemson back to the top.” The #TCBT3 hashtag has been used quite often by recruits in social media posts. But what was seen against LSU Saturday night suggests there is still a lot of work to be done to get the Tigers heading back in that direction.
With that in mind, this coaching staff needs to be on the phones this week doing as much damage control as possible, and hope this team looks much different when it takes the field at home against Georgia Southern on Saturday.
