It seems like the season just started for Clemson Football, and now it is about to end. September to January is about 42% of the year but for die-hard college football fans, it seems like a lot less.
Except for spring practices, the balance of the year is filled with recruiting. The Tigers have been very good on the recruiting trail over the past decade, but that doesn’t mean there have been exceptions that have impacted the performance on the field.
Many have pointed out the overall disappointment in the Class of 2019 as one of the contributing factors that led to a step back from six straight years of playoff appearances. COVID hurt Tiger recruiting as well and will continue to impact all of college football for a few more seasons before everything is truly back to normal.
It does appear that the Tigers nailed this most recent Class of 2023. There were a few names we knew would be good, even if it took some time. Then there were others that few saw making an impact right away, including myself.
One thing you can always count on is that some Tiger fans will get ugly about Clemson taking prospects that the popular recruiting services ranked as 3-stars. In this class, it turns out the Tiger coaches were better evaluators than 247Sports or Rivals.
There have been lots of people who have suggested the Tigers would have been better off not making some of the later offers in the 2023 class so they could have used those scholarships on transfers. Had they done that, they would have missed out on a name or two that have made an impact right away.
Here are seven freshmen this season who should be starting for the Tigers in 2024.