Early signing day has come and gone and Clemson's entire class is made up of high school prospects.
However, from top to bottom, it is a pretty strong class, and it is hard to argue against the fact that the coaching staff had a lot of success with some late moves, including pulling off multiple flips. When Wednesday ended, the Tigers had the 10th best class in the country, according to Rivals.
However, for some, there is still one glaring issue. Not one single player from the portal. And this was the class in which it appeared the staff were primed to make a move or two.
This time around, though, a lack of effort isn't the culprit, although that is the narrative that some will spin. The Tigers targeted multiple OL, even getting a couple to campus, but came up empty. You don't do all that if you aren't serious about attempting to land those players.
Sometimes you just miss, and that is what happened with Clemson with some of these OL. With four starters returning, plus a couple of others with plenty of experience, head coach Dabo Swinney wasn't going to guarantee a starting spot to anyone, and that is exactly one of the things a lot of the guys in the portal are looking for.
"I think it was four guys that we went after in the offensive line," Swinney said on signing day. "Actually, a couple of other guys that we made phone calls to, but it just wasn't an interest, and a couple of other guys that just weren't right fit for us. Again, it's not a lot of guys,” Swinney said. “You still have to be good enough. You still have to be the right fit. You still have to be an academic fit. Nobody talks about that. You got to be able to be eligible. So, it waters it down.”
Clemson ended up with four OL in the class, with two big additions coming on Wednesday. 4-star Elyjah Thurmon finally went public with his decision, and 3-star Mason Wade flipped his commitment from Duke.
“Super excited about what we were able to do on the offensive line,” Swinney said. “Man, just kind of came together and worked out in a great way.”
”We needed guys that could play tackle and have some position flexibility, a lot like (former Clemson OL) Jordan McFadden brought to us, a lot like Collin Sadler brings to us, a lot like Tristan Leigh brings to us. Some versatility in their game. And Elyjah Thurmon and Mason Wade, they bring that."
So it appears the Tigers are no longer even in the market for an OL. What is a little surprising, though, is Swinney proclaiming the staff is not even in the market for a DE. Especially, considering that intel over the past few weeks had suggested otherwise.
“I don’t see a portal situation," he said. "That was a position that we looked at. We kind of evaluate every position on our roster on the portal standpoint as a staff. And that was a position that with the guys that we have in-house and what we’ve been able to see from those guys, it wasn’t a position we wanted a portal guy because we’ve got a guy like Peter Woods that can play anywhere. So, is there a guy out there that we think would come in and be better than that? We didn’t feel that. You know, so we focused on the high school kid."
Interesting comments considering the Tigers have three DEs on the way out, and just two coming in. It was always known that Xavier Thomas and Justin Mascoll would be moving on at the end of the season, but true freshman David Ojiegbe also bolted, transferring to Pitt.
On the surface, there appears to be a gaping hole. TJ Parker is really the only guy that returns next season that has extensive experience. Cade Dehoff has played sparingly, and Zaire Patterson has barely sniffed the field. Then there is AJ Hoffler, who has an extremely high ceiling, but only logged 74 snaps across seven games this season.
Of the incoming freshmen, Darien Mayo appears to be physically ready, but he doesn't enroll early. Adam Kissayi does enroll in January, but could be a guy that needs a year in the weight room before he is really ready to contribute.
Moving Woods outside is an option, according to Swinney. They did the same thing with Christian Wilkins one season, and he had a lot of success playing outside. Maybe Woods could have that same kind of success, and the Tigers do have more options at tackle.
However, is that Woods' strong suit? I'm not convinced it is. I'm not saying he can't have success outside, just that his skills best translate to playing inside. And I am also not convinced the door is completely shut on Clemson pursuing an end in the portal before this start of next season. The portal is open until January 2. Then there is another window open after the spring. There's still time. We'll see what happens.
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