There is no question that head coach Dabo Swinney and his Clemson football program have been on a roll over the past few days. The Tigers have landed seven verbal commitments in the class of 2026 since March 8, and four of those players are 4-star prospects.
As a result, Clemson's current recruiting class now ranks No. 2 in the country behind only Southern California. Already with 12 players committed for the current cycle, Swinney appears to be putting to rest the notion that his program can no longer recruit well enough to win National Championships.
One college football analyst who is singing Clemson's praises after this recruiting windfall is On3 Sports' JD PicKell. In fact, Tuesday, on his podcast, PicKell said that Clemson is on a "heater" and that Swinney and Co. are doing what they need to do to win big their way.
"The transfer portal and recruiting is like going out to eat and groceries," he said. "If you're going to eat in every night, that's totally fine. But if your expectations are to have 5-star quality, national-title quality meals every single time, well, then you better knock it out of the park at the grocery store."
Clemson is on a HEATER. Dabo can use the portal however he wants to if they're going to keep recruiting like this.
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) March 12, 2025
You don't need to eat out if you can make a national title meal via the grocery store.https://t.co/GiydwDrfMe pic.twitter.com/OgW0lqIxmj
Certainly, Clemson prefers to recruit and develop its roster instead of trying to lean on the quick fixes that the transfer portal can bring. This offseason, the Tigers brought in only three transfers, and still, people around the country proclaimed it a new era for the program, given Swinney's long-running hesitancy to fish in that pond.
So even if Swinney is willing to bend a little bit and consider adding some new blood via the portal, the reality is that this program will be built on the strength of its high school recruiting for as long as the current head coach remains in place. Thus, PicKell points out that it is more important for Clemson to recruit well than almost any other power-conference program.
"So I think it is more important that Clemson is in the top 10 at this point in time," he said, "and they're having this success early on in the 2026 cycle."
PicKell points out that Clemson's greatest run of success, when it won two National Championships, correlated with the best period of high school recruiting the program has ever known. However, in recent years, the Tigers' recruiting has taken a step back.
The Tigers have not signed a top-10 class (according to 247Sports) since 2021, and their most recent class came in at just No. 29 in the nation. When you combine that with the fact that the program is not supplementing the roster with a ton of transfers, it is easy to see why some Clemson fans have grown concerned.
However, the philosophy at Clemson isn't going to change under Swinney's watch. Therefore, it is essential that he recruits high school talent at an elite level. Fortunately, he is off to a wonderful start in that regard this offseason.