Clemson Built a Dynasty Doing It Their Way — But Does That Way Still Work?

For a decade, Clemson football built one of the sport’s modern dynasties by doing things differently.

While much of college football rushed to offer young prospects, including some eighth- and ninth-graders, Dabo Swinney and the Tigers stuck to a disciplined, measured approach: limited offers, late evaluations, and an insistence that prospects visit campus before earning a scholarship.

That strategy worked spectacularly, especially when Clemson sat at the top of the sport.

But in the NIL era, the question Clemson fans must now ask is simple and uncomfortable:

Can that same approach still win elite recruiting battles?

From 2015 through 2020, Clemson was not just nationally relevant — it was the measuring stick. The Tigers landed blue-chip prospects like Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence, and Tee Higgins while maintaining one of the smallest and tightest recruiting boards in the country. 

The board exceeded 200 scholarship offers only once — issuing 202 in 2015 — and surpassed 150 just one other time. Recruiting became even more selective beginning in 2020, reaching 100 offers only twice, remaining under 110, and dropping as low as 72 in 2021, a sharp contrast to similar programs that often extend 250 to 400 offers annually.

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Clemson didn’t chase recruits early either. It didn’t flood prospects with offers. And it didn’t panic when others did.

Back then, it didn’t need to.

The landscape has changed

Fast forward to now, and Clemson is no longer recruiting from the mountaintop.

The Tigers are coming off a 7–6 season. They’re navigating NIL realities they once avoided. And they’re competing against SEC programs willing to establish financial relationships early — sometimes before Clemson is even ready to formally offer.

That’s where the concern grows.

In the current 2027 cycle, Clemson has extended only two five-star offers, according to industry evaluations: OL Kennedy Brown‍ and Joshua Dobson‍, an elite cornerback prospect from South Carolina who recently transferred to William Amos High School in Cornelius, North Carolina.

Dobson’s recruitment is the flashpoint. He grew up a Clemson fan. He attended camps as a kid. He checked every traditional Clemson box, maybe more.

And yet, after a recent multi-day visit to LSU, national recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong logged a prediction in LSU’s favor.

That alone isn’t the issue.

Elite prospects commit elsewhere all the time.

The issue is now that LSU appears to have momentum; did Clemson’s approach allow another program to get entrenched with a prospect who grew up loving the Orange and White?

LSU’s staff, led by Lane Kiffin, operates aggressively in the NIL space. I believe financial expectations are often the focal point of many conversations. By the time Clemson is ready to fully engage, the ground may already be shifting, and Swinney’s bunch isn’t interested in talking dollars and cents the way others will.  

This isn’t about effort. It’s about timing and adapting.

Clemson still recruits with purpose. The Tigers’ board is compact. Their evaluations are thorough. They rarely, if ever, offer players they don’t genuinely want. I’m certain the staff is working hard, maybe harder than most, because Swinney believes in a relationship-driven recruiting style.

But that same discipline can become a liability when:

• Offers elsewhere come years earlier
• NIL conversations begin before Clemson traditionally engages
• Top prospects begin to expect boatloads of cash

When Clemson was winning national championships, its reputation could overcome a late entry. Plus, at that time, NIL wasn’t a factor. Now, reputation alone may not be enough, and if you aren’t talking money, some prospects aren’t listening. 

This does not mean Clemson is “done.” It does not mean the program is broken, and it certainly doesn’t mean every elite recruit is lost.

But it does mean Clemson must evaluate whether its recruiting philosophy, which has always been unique, has become archaic in a sport that no longer rewards loyalty and patience.

Unless Clemson adapts how early, how aggressively, and how transparently it recruits elite prospects in the NIL era, instances like Dobson’s recruitment may become less the exception and more the trend.

That’s the concern, and it’s one Clemson fans are right to wrestle with.

The Tigers will still get an opportunity with the five-star talent, as he has confirmed to ClemsonSportsTalk.com that he plans to attend the March 7 Elite Retreat, and Swinney’s staff needs to make a huge statement.

The Tigers don’t have to hit home runs on the recruiting trail with every five and four-star prospect, but right now it feels like they aren’t even in the batter’s box.