Clemson football: Tigers frustrated by recruiting moratorium

Clemson football will be unable to host recruits at all in 2020.

Clemson Football head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media on Wednesday where he was asked about his thoughts on the NCAA extension of the recruiting dead period through January 1, 2021.

Coach Swinney responded, “I do not see why we could not have official visits where it’s a much smaller controlled group of people and you could test those people, you could have testing in place, I hate that for the player.”

What does this mean for Clemson? No unofficial visits by prospects for home games, coaches are prevented from traveling to see prospects play and there will be no official visits for early enrollees.

Prospects visiting Clemson has been a major factor in their on the field success.

The success of Clemson Football has been based on its ability to attract visitors. In many situations, the prospect has to prove to the Clemson staff that they are as interested in Clemson as Clemson is interested in them.

That comes through making unofficial visits, performing at camp all of which allow the staff to get to know a prospect. Talent alone is not enough to earn an offer from Clemson, a young man who earns a Clemson offer is an individual that checks as many boxes off the field as they do on.

The Tigers unique approach to recruiting has been put to the test during the pandemic. Zoom meetings can only tell the staff so much. On the flip side, how can a prospect come to an informed conclusion on where to spend the next 3-5 years based on virtual visits?

Clemson’s culture is something that has to be experienced and touched, it is a challenge for that to come across via technology.

As the Tigers experienced their first de-commitments in years during this unique time, you cannot help but think how things might have been different if Clemson had been able to host visitors.

No camps, no All In Cookout this summer surely impacted the Tigers. Yet the staff has moved forward working to assemble another exceptional class of young men who align with the values of the program.