Built to win: Comparing recruiting rankings and styles of Alabama, Clemson
By Corey Long
Published:
With Alabama going 5-for-5 in College Football Playoff appearances and Clemson not too far behind with four consecutive trips to the Playoff, it’s no surprise these two school absolutely kill it in recruiting.
However, when taking a deep dive into their classes, it’s interesting to see how they have built their runs of dominance.
Though both schools are in the southeast, Clemson and Alabama don’t often recruit in the same circles. Both schools recruit very talented prospects with tremendous upside and pro potential but they don’t often have the same nasty battles on the recruiting trail that Alabama and Georgia do.
For this deep dive there are 46 Clemson players and 45 Alabama players. That covers both teams’ two-deep depth charts plus other key contributors.
Clemson breakdown
[table “” not found /]The count on this group is 8 5-star prospects, 22 4-star prospects, 11 3-star prospects, 3 2-star prospects and two walk-ons. There’s one player in the two deep west of Tennessee — linebacker Isaiah Simmons from Olathe, Kan. One thing that stands out if how strong Clemson is in Georgia right now. The Tigers’ staff clearly leans on the Peach State as part of their prime territory along with the Carolinas. Those three states account for 32 of the 46 players profiled here.
As the Tigers have become a national power their recruiting continues to expand. The staff does some cherry picking in Tennessee, Florida and Ohio among other states. Surprisingly Clemson has only three prospects in the two deep from the beltway area of Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. Those areas have traditionally been good to the A CC.
Alabama breakdown
[table “” not found /]The count for Alabama is 10 5-star prospects, 30 4-stars, 4 3-stars and a walk-on. Alabama used to be very strong in Georgia, but this two deep only includes two prospects from the Peach State. The Crimson Tide staff is focusing more on the Gulf Coast with 12 in-state prospects, 6 from Louisiana, 5 from Texas, 4 from Florida and 3 from Mississippi.
Whereas Clemson still keeps it pretty regional, Alabama has expanded far and wide. Beyond snagging Tua Tagovailoa from Hawaii, they have prospects from California, Nevada and Oklahoma. The one that really stands out is the Tide pulling Ross Pierschbacher from Iowa, especially given the Hawkeyes’ long-time success with getting offensive linemen to the pros. But that’s Alabama recruiting in a nutshell — get the best player, location be damned.
In closing
When I asked Tom Luginbill, the Director of National Recruiting at ESPN, why Clemson and Alabama seemed to recruit in different circles he described it as a combo approach.
“It’s the best player PLUS the right player approach,” Luginbill said. “They don’t chase star ratings. If the kid is a bad fit personally they are very, very wary.”
It makes a lot of sense. Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban are very different personalities. They both want to win at the highest level, but they run their programs differently. What might work the for prospects Alabama recruits might not work for the prospects Clemson recruits and vice versa.
Clemson and Alabama have proven there’s more than one way to get to the top. But only one team will stay there after Monday night.
Corey Long is a freelance writer for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Corey on Twitter @CoreyLong.
