The “new guy” has to get started

Head coach Dabo Swinney has been working since he was hired to find his man, the right man for perhaps the most important hire Brent Venables after the 2011 season. The new guy has little time to make a big impression on recruits, and how long the window is open depends on where the hiring officially occurs.

There won’t be much time to unpack, look for houses, and try out the local restaurants. It’s time to get to work.

The Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class is set, but it’s never too early to start working on 2026. The 2025 recruiting class was ranked 27th overall and overall by 247Sports. The class is smaller (15) and has been strengthened by the three transfers.

According to the recruiting calendar, we are currently in a contact period that runs from January 6th to February 1st. A contact period is the period of time during which authorized Athletics Department personnel are permitted to conduct in-person recruiting contacts and assessments off campus. There are two exceptions: Sunday was a rest period (a rest period is the period of time during which in-person recruiting contacts are permitted only on the member institution’s campus. In-person recruiting contacts or off-campus assessments are not permitted to be conducted during the rest period).

Starting today, there is a three-day blackout period that runs through Wednesday (a blackout period is the period during which it is not permitted to conduct in-person recruiting contacts or assessments or to make official or official contacts on the member institution’s campus or off the member institution’s campus). ). unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution’s campus).

February 2nd is considered a rest period and then there is a rest period until March 2nd. There is a quiet period from March 3rd to April 14th and a contact period from April 15th to May 24th.

The lyrics to an old Johnny Cash song say: Time is a waste when the new guy wants to go on tour and see potential prospects.

Yes, Clemson has system integrity and gap integrity issues and there were times when players looked lost. The new guy has to deal with all of this. But there were times when you looked out on the field and you didn’t see the Jimmys and Joes you needed to play at a championship level. The fact that the coaches moved Peter Woods on defense (Woods is incredibly athletic but too big for the rim) showed how much the talent level had declined in certain spots.

I remember walking across the field in the old Georgia Dome before the Alabama game in 2008, looking at the Clemson players and the Alabama players and thinking, one of them doesn’t look like the other. By 2011, Clemson was starting to look like those championship teams, and on the field in Phoenix before the first title game, an Alabama coach told me, “Only one other team we play looks like us.” That’s LSU. But add Clemson to that list.”

Looking back at the 2018 team, the sheer amount of talent is almost overwhelming. Clelin Ferrell. Christian Wilkins. Isaiah Simmons. Dexter Lawrence. Austin Bryant. Baylon Spector. Trayvon Mullen. Kendall Joseph. Nolan Turner. James Skalski. Guys.

There are still a few people out there, but more are needed and the hope is that the new guy can handle plans and development well. But it starts with recruiting, and he needs to hit the ground running.