Clemson Football: How Dabo Swinney’s recruiting pitch has evolved

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 28: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his teams 29-23 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

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ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 31: Tajh Boyd #10 of the Clemson Tigers pitches the ball away from Kwon Alexander #25 of the LSU Tigers during the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl at Georgia Dome on December 31, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

The next phase (2011-14)…

Though 2010 was an extremely disappointing year, the 2011 recruiting class was one of the best in school history at the time.

The Tigers brought in Chad Morris to coach the offense and there was a certain amount of buzz about taking the program to new heights.

The recruiting pitch to athletes like Sammy Watkins and Charone Peake had to be that of “you can come here and play immediately in a new and exciting offense.”

This phase saw the Tigers come away with some marquee wins- including an ACC Championship in 2011 and bowl wins over teams like LSU and Ohio State.

Swinney sold recruits on the fact that the Tigers were the ‘up-and-coming program’ and Clemson really started to see success on the recruiting trail when the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex opened in 2013. That complex was just another selling point to recruits and showed the nation that Clemson football was serious about competing.

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