The Clemson Tigers closed National Signing Day on Wednesday with 20 total commitments in the 2026 college football recruiting class.
Coach Dabo Swinney, as you’d expect, is happy with the Tigers’ 2026 recruiting haul.
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“It’s a special day for us because we’ve got a group of young men and their families who chose us, and that just never gets old to me,” Swinney said at his Wednesday press conference to announce class of 2026 recruits. I don’t take it lightly.
“I’m always excited to start a new journey with a new group,” Swinney added. “It’s always sentimental a little bit this time of year when you’re kind of wrapping things up with your seniors and you’ve done a lot of life with these guys.”
Swinney will hope to do the same with this recruiting class, which he believes is one of the best he’s had since he was named full-time head coach 17 years ago following the 2008 season.
“What I will say about this group is they’re unique, and I believe they’re similar to my (2011) class. And the reason I say that is, these guys stuck with us in the midst of the worst season we’ve had in 15 years around here. And that says a lot about who they are. Because there’s not one person in this signing class that somebody didn’t try to talk out of coming to Clemson; that somebody didn’t talk negative about Clemson. ‘Why are you…’ You know, especially the noise when it’s deafening.
“But this group of young men and their families stuck with Clemson, and I just can’t say enough about what that says about who they are in this day and age when you get so much negative stuff.”
For Swinney, it’s never been about having the top-ranked recruiting class. His national championship teams had signing classes that ranked well below Alabama and others it competed against in either the national championship game or the College Football Playoff semifinals.
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Where does this particular Clemson recruiting class rank nationally? Here’s what the leading industry experts think about the Tigers’ 2026 class.
247Sports, Rivals rank Clemson football 2026 recruiting class behind these ACC rivals
247Sports’ 2026 football recruit team rankings have the Tigers at No. 18 nationally. That ranks fourth among ACC rivals, led by the Miami Hurricanes and coach Mario Cristobal’s 10th-ranked overall class.
Florida State has the next highest-ranked class among ACC schools at No. 14 nationally, followed by North Carolina and Bill Belichick, who finished one spot ahead of Clemson at No. 17.
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247Sports’ rankings break down Clemson’s recruits: 10 four-stars, 9 three-stars. Four-star receiver Naeem Burroughs is the Tigers’ highest-rated recruit at No. 61 overall in the 247Sports’ Composite, the No. 8 overall wide receiver in the 2026 class.
Rivals.com also ranks Clemson with the No. 19 recruiting class overall, and likewise one spot behind North Carolina. Rivals lists the Tigers’ 20 commits as 10 four-star and 10 three-star recruits.
ESPN ranks Clemson football recruiting class
ESPN’s recruiting class rankings have Clemson at No. 18 nationally, one spot behind the Washington Huskies and one spot ahead of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
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Per ESPN recruiting analyst Craig Haubert:
“Much of the talent is currently concentrated on offense. Naeem Burroughs is a burner in the 100-meter dash who can take the top off a defense and has a high football IQ. Fellow receiver Connor Salmin is another big-play threat. With some new offensive weapons, the Tigers are making sure they have the time to get the ball downfield by loading up along the offensive line. Delaney, Carter Scruggs, Grant Wise, Adam Guthrie and Chancellor Barclay give the Tigers multiple SC Next 300 OLs to help reload a senior-heavy unit that is projected to lose multiple starters after 2025.”
ACC football 2026 recruiting classes, ranked by ESPN
Here’s how ESPN ranked the top recruiting classes in the ACC.
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1. Miami Hurricanes (11th nationally)
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5. SMU Mustangs (20th nationally)
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6. Virginia Tech Hokies (23rd nationally)
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7. Syracuse Orange (27th nationally)
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10. Pitt Panthers (43rd nationally)
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11. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (44th nationally)
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12. NC State Wolfpack (45th nationally)
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13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (46th nationally)
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14. Boston College Eagles (47th nationally)
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16. California Golden Bears (57th nationally)
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17. Virginia Cavaliers (unranked in top 75)
Watch Dabo Swinney’s full press conference on National Signing Day below.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson football 2026 recruiting class ranking updated after NSD
