FSU Recruiting: Willie Taggart taking page from Clemson's strategy?

FSU Recruiting: Willie Taggart taking page from Clemson’s strategy?

By Kelvin Hunt | Feb 19, 2018

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: A Florida State Seminoles cheerleader runs with a flag on the field during the College Football Playoff Semifinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2015 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Clemson’s Last Four Recruiting Cycles

Dabo Swinney has made the college football playoffs three consecutive years and played for two national championships in the same time frame (winning one).

One of the main reasons they’ve been so great is competitive(along with having Deshaun Watson for two of those years) is great recruiting.

Let’s take a look at Clemson’s last four recruiting classes:

2015: 26 recruits (12 of 26) 46.1 percent blue chip
2016: 21 recruits (13 of 21) 62 percent blue chip
2017: 14 recruits (10 of 14) 71.4 percent blue chip
2018: 17 recruits (12 of 17) 70.5 percent blue chip

READ: Has Clemson Closed The Recruiting Gap With FSU?

Which trend do you notice? Clemson went the exact opposite of the former FSU regime. Instead of taking huge classes, they began to concentrate on quality over quantity.

It meant they were finishing behind FSU in the rankings, but finished with a higher per player average overall which is the most important stat.

In fact, Clemson has averaged a per player rating of 92.77 the last two years and FSU has an average per player rating of 91 the past two years. That’s almost two full points difference between the two programs.

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