Clemson Football: South Carolina’s recruiting pitch is absolutely depressing

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Will Muschamp of the South Carolina Gamecocks directs his team against the Virginia Cavaliers during the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Virginia won 28-0. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Will Muschamp of the South Carolina Gamecocks directs his team against the Virginia Cavaliers during the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Virginia won 28-0. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

South Carolina’s recruiting pitch against Clemson football is a sad one

While Clemson football ascends to new heights, it’s apparent that South Carolina fans don’t realize how depressing their recruiting pitch truly is.

Over the course of the last few years, we’ve seen disappointment turn to desperation in the hearts of many Gamecock fans. Many South Carolina fans could take Clemson football winning one National Championship, but when it was truly learned that the Tigers weren’t ‘cycling out’ and that they were actually getting better, things went from bleak to worse down in Columbia.

Gamecock fans have desperately tried to discredit Dabo Swinney every opportunity they’ve gotten, but have not succeeded.

Now, they’re beginning to turn back to the ole’ tried and true recruiting pitch: ‘We play in the SEC.’

Desperate times call for desperate measure when recruiting against Clemson football

The Tigers are an absolute powerhouse and that can’t be argued.

The only thing Gamecock fans can use as a ‘feather in their cap’ is the fact that Clemson plays in the ACC while they play in the SEC. Never mind the fact that they’ve never won the conference and haven’t finished ranked inside the top-25 in a half-decade, but yes they do have the ‘SEC’ label tagged to their school.

So, here’s how the recruiting pitch must go:

You walk into a recruit’s house and say this: ‘We are building something special at South Carolina. If you come play for us, you’ll get to play against all the top programs in the nation.’ Year-in and year-out we have one of the toughest schedules in the country because we play great teams like Georgia, Florida, Texas A&M and Clemson every year. 

Will you beat any of them? Well, probably not very often. But, you’ll get to play against them, so that’s pretty cool right?’ 

Isn’t that what every 4-star and 5-star prospect wants to hear? They’ll get to play against Clemson, Georgia, Alabama and LSU.  I mean, who wants to win National Championships and compete for trophies when they can simply play against the competition that will be doing just that instead?

You see, the schedule argument is all great until you realize what you’re really saying. You’re telling everyone that you’re simply not better than the other programs in your conference or in your state, for that matter. And then Gamecock fans wonder why they’re not seeing more success on the recruiting trail.

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