Note: The following will appear in the Louisiana Tech Football Gameday program.
In the world of college football, to be an elite team you need to assemble a team of elite players. The best way to build an elite team is to recruit at the elite level.
Over the years, head coach Dubbo Swinney and staff have seen the Tigers wear orange and white, with South Carolina natives such as DeAndre Hopkins, Shaq Lawson and Andre Ellington not just in Palmetto State. , has been working relentlessly on the way of recruitment. Not only do we play in Death Valley, we play nationally.
Clemson legends CJ Spiller and Sammy Watkins opened up a pipeline of top talent from the Sunshine State, allowing Deon Cain and Ray-Ray McCloud to venture down to the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Tigers have been on the national scene for quite some time now, and have had the opportunity to play in primetime games, showcasing prospects what they can achieve at Clemson through the lens of television. , appeared in six college football playoffs, and won two national championships, creating considerable momentum on the recruiting trail.
Most elite programs in college football cast a broad net over the recruitment process by utilizing the law of averages in hopes of acquiring top talent.Clemson is unlike any other elite program in the sport I am taking an approach. The Tigers are very selective in their recruitment process, trying to find not just great football players, but great young people who fit into the program’s established culture.
“Obviously, the man has to be a good player,” said Jordan Sorrells, architect of Clemson’s recruiting operations. “The good news for us is that the pool of good enough players is big enough that we can find someone who fits us culturally as well.”
“Once you decide that this guy is good enough from a football standpoint, you can really dive into what I would say is the heart of the talent evaluation process: Who are you? Are you a student? Not only are we recruiting a man, but we are also recruiting his entire family, so we want our program to fully understand who the man is.”
To be a good coach in the recruiting world, you have to build and maintain relationships with high school coaches not just in South Carolina, but across the country.
“We are so grateful to have Coach (Robbie) Caldwell on board,” Sorrells continued. “It’s like there’s no one on this planet that he doesn’t know. If he hasn’t met them, within two minutes he’ll feel like he’s known you all your life. A great asset to the department, Coach Caldwell has done a very good job in contacting the coaches and helping us along the way.
“Our coaching staff as a whole does a great job reaching out to the coaches and that is a big part of the process. You want to develop those relationships and maintain those relationships. High school coaches, it’s important to know that we’re here as a resource to help, support, and support you, not just get you players.
“We want to get to know you and help develop the program so they can call us when they have a lead. We want to make sure we’re doing a great job building relationships with high school coaches in our geographic footprint in the Southeast, and we want to be in school as much as we can and I want to talk to the coach as much as possible.”
In the ever-changing world of college football, Swinney and his staff remain true to what has elevated Clemson to elite levels.
“The more turmoil we have, the more attractive we have become to people who really appreciate what we have to offer. It’s a holistic approach and long-term value, Swinney said.
Swinney and his staff have created a capable roster without sacrificing the program’s culture.
.