The Clemson Tigers have locked in 15 commits for their 2025 recruiting class, featuring one five-star, six four-star, and eight three-star prospects. However, for head coach Dabo Swinney, this class ranks among the lowest-rated of his tenure, according to 247Sports’ 2025 Recruit Football Team Rankings.
CFB Analyst Criticizes Clemson’s 2025 Recruiting Class
247Sports college football host Josh Pate shared his thoughts on Clemson’s underwhelming recruiting class. While he acknowledges that the Tigers could still secure a spot in the College Football Playoff next season, just as they did last year.
However, he remains unconvinced that it will be enough to restore them to their former dominance.
Pate pointed out that Clemson has struggled to recapture its peak form in recent years, which has led to a six-year national championship drought. He further emphasized that, even with their playoff hopes alive, the Tigers still don’t appear to be built for a true national title run in the upcoming season.
“I will say, none of this is definitive. I don’t know where Clemson’s headed. I’ve got concerns about where Clemson’s headed. They just finished with the 26th-ranked class in the country. That’s the lowest there since 2010,” Pate said.
“They’re not close. Let me put it plainly: Clemson’s football players that they are accumulating are not going to be good enough to meet the standard they’ve set there.”
“Unless something drastic changes or unless their development laps the rest of the sport or the recruiting rankings were just totally flawed. Unless something like that is amiss, they’re not going to be able to keep up. This year’s team will actually be their best shot over the next several years. That’s the way it looks to me right now. I would be happy to be sold on the alternative,” he added.
Pate didn’t hold back in his assessment, comparing Clemson to recent national champions like the 2023 Texas Longhorns and 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes.
In his view, the Tigers are nowhere near the level of these powerhouse programs and still have a long way to go if they want to compete at that standard.
“I’d be more than happy. It’s not something I actually want. It’s very good for us around here when Clemson is good. It’s hard for me to see them competing at a national championship level. They’re not close to Texas right now. They are not close to Ohio State. They’re not close to several of the top teams in the SEC or Big Ten.”
ESPN Analyst Reassures Clemson Fans: ‘Don’t Freak Out’
Clemson’s lower-ranked 2025 recruiting class isn’t necessarily a reflection of talent; it is more about the numbers. With limited roster spots, the Tigers had fewer recruits, making it harder to accumulate points in the rankings.
However, what they lack in incoming volume, they make up for in experience, bringing back nine offensive starters and eleven defensive players with starting reps from last season.
ESPN analyst Craig Haubert sees things differently. Despite the lower number of recruits, he believes Clemson’s 2025 class still boasts plenty of quality. So, he asked the Tigers fans to calm down.
“If you’re Clemson fans, don’t freak out. You’re just lower [in the rankings] because you don’t have a lot of numbers in that class, but there’s quality there. There’s so many ways to kind of look at these things and read them. But with the new (NCAA 105-player roster cap) and transfers, there’s some classes, if you go through ESPN.com, that have 50 players in it,” Haubert said.
KEEP READING: 2025 Way-Too-Early College Football Top 25 Power Rankings
“Clemson’s around 18. You know what that speaks to — that speaks to retention. And this class actually has a few transfers in it. We should have a ‘breaking news’ banner. There’s a few transfers in it. There’s three.”
Clemson has a strong shot at reclaiming the ACC title, but the real question is whether they can rise to the national championship level in 2025.
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