‘Great Day for the Tigers’ as They Sign ‘Really Good Group’
By: Gavin Oliver December 20, 2023

Head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program signed 22 scholarship high school players on Wednesday, when college football’s early signing period got underway.

The Tigers’ 2024 class — which is ranked in the top 15 nationally by multiple recruiting services — consists of one running back, two wide receivers, one tight end, four offensive linemen, two defensive ends, two defensive tackles, three linebackers, three cornerbacks, three safeties and one kicker.

“The cool thing about this day is people have to choose you, and that never gets old for me,” Swinney said. “So, it’s a great day for the Tigers, and again, always a blessing when a young man and his family say, ‘Hey, yeah, that’s what I want to be a part of.’ I think that’s really cool. That never gets old to me. I love that part of it.”

Of the players in Clemson’s 2024 signing class, 15 are set to enroll early. The midyear enrollees include six players on offense, eight players on defense and one specialist in kicker Nolan Hauser.

Thanks to an NCAA rule change, a number of the early enrollees will be with the Tigers for Gator Bowl practices in Jacksonville. Although they aren’t allowed to play in the bowl, Swinney believes those freshmen will benefit from taking part in bowl practices.

“That’s just really helpful because you go ahead and start getting some guys acclimated and start making the transition with them,” he said.

Nine different states are represented in Clemson’s 2024 class, including Georgia (eight), Florida (five), Texas (two), Maryland (two), South Carolina (one), Illinois (one), North Carolina (one), Tennessee (one) and Virginia (one).

Clemson’s class features 11 members of the Rivals250, nine members of the ESPN300 and seven selections to the 247Sports Top247.

To date, every signing class in Swinney’s head coaching tenure except for its 2023 class has won at least one ACC Championship. Nine straight classes from 2012-20 earned at least one College Football Playoff berth.

“It’s a really good group,” Swinney said. “A lot of these guys have won championships throughout their tenure, and I think that’s something that we always look at as far as where they’re coming from.”

Swinney’s recruiting classes have finished in the top 15 of at least one primary recruiting service (ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports) every year since 2011, and the Tigers will try to extend that streak with their 2024 class when rankings are finalized in February.

“We’ve got a talented team returning next year on both sides of the ball, but this is going to be a great addition to that team,” Swinney said of the 2024 class. “And the 15 midyears, again, will make it, I think, an exciting spring. So, I’m excited about the day, excited about welcoming everyone officially. Can’t wait to get started with them.”

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story