Clemson football's 2025 recruiting class has continued a disturbing trend for Dabo Swinney

CLEMSON — It's no secret that Clemson football relies on high school recruitment rather than the transfer portal.

The Tigers were one of four FBS schools that did not land a transfer in the 2024 cycle. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney pursued four offensive linemen during the winter period but didn't land any. Yet, a troubling trend has started for the Tigers on the 2025 recruiting trail.

During the past six weeks, Clemson has missed out on several high school recruits who had listed the school as a finalist, like wide receiver Cortez Mills, offensive lineman Hardy Watts and cornerback Gregory Xavier Thomas, all four-star prospects. The Tigers did land four-star edge rusher Bryce Davis on Saturday to snap the team's recruiting drought, but their pursuit of several five-star recruits, including defensive lineman Elijah Griffin and offensive linemen Davis Sanders Jr. and Josh Petty, has also cooled, according to 247Sports.

Swinney, who spoke with local media Tuesday, is confident in his next batch of recruits amid criticism of not landing transfers in the name, image and likeness (NIL) era.

"People think just because a guy doesn't come to Clemson, it's because of NIL, and that's not the case," Swinney said. "That is the case sometimes, for sure, but that's not always the case. There's other great programs, coaches and people, and it's a better fit for them somewhere else. …

"As far as our recruiting, if NIL is the factor, we're probably not going to get him. Simple as that. If it's a factor, we got as good a shot as anybody."

Clemson's 2025 class ranks No. 11 in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite. It is behind one ACC school — Miami — six SEC teams and two Big Ten programs. It is still early in the 2025 cycle, but Clemson and Swinney must return to landing coveted prospects to not fall behind their peers.

In 2021, the NCAA allowed players to transfer without penalty and with immediate eligibility, and enrolled players were permitted to profit on their NIL. Since those changes, Clemson's recruiting ranks have dipped year to year. The Tigers went from No. 5 in 2021 to No. 10 in 2022 to No. 11 in '23 and '24. Compare that to Florida State, which won the ACC last year; the Seminoles class jumped from No. 23 in 2021 to No. 20 in '22 to No. 19 in '23 to No. 12 in '24.

FSU also infuses its recruiting classes with the portal, having a top 10 transfer class in the past four seasons. Miami's recruiting class also has surpassed Clemson, ranking higher than the Tigers from 2023 through 2025. The Hurricanes have complimented their high school cycle with a top 10 transfer class since hiring coach Mario Cristobal in December 2021.

"We've never had the No. 1 (recruiting) class or anything like that, but we've evaluated, developed and retained well, and that's how we've won," Swinney said. "We know we're not for everybody, but we believe in how we do things, and our track record, we'll let it speak for itself."

FSU and Miami lose players to the portal but replenish their rosters by adding transfers who have years of experience at the FBS level and can learn a new team's system quickly. Whereas, the Tigers rarely land transfers, bringing in two players from and losing 43 to the portal since 2021.

Those departures include two-year starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and last season's starting safety Andrew Mukuba and starting wide receiver Beaux Collins. The portal losses have forced the Tigers to rely on less experienced players or true freshmen to be thrown into action and adjust to the collegiate tempo, while other ACC schools have veteran rosters.

Clemson, a mainstay in the College Football Playoff from 2015 to 2020, has missed the tournament for the past three seasons — ever since the NCAA allowed immediate eligibility for all transfers and NIL became in effect. If the Tigers and Swinney still aren't capable of landing portal players, they must continue to produce a strong recruiting class to remain viable in the ACC and nationally.

The Tigers have offers pending to recruits, like four-star athlete Jordan Young, four-star safety Kendall Daniels Jr. and three-star wide receiver Dillon Alfred. They need to land them to continue Swinney's philosophy of evaluate, develop and retain.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00