Clemson’s 2018 class is small, but it still includes 5 different states’ best players

Clemson has the best problem a college football can have. There’s just too much talent coming back.

The Tigers are bringing back nearly their entire front seven, including multiple players who many expected to be NFL draft picks. Defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant, and Christian Wilkins were all expected to head to the pros. Instead they’re coming back to Death Valley.

On the offensive side, they’ll have to replace some skill players, but quarterback Kelly Bryant is coming back, as well as his backup. It’s just a ton of returning production from last season.

The announced return of virtually the entire defensive line was a surprise, but the Tigers’ depth is impressive — by my count, they are scheduled to bring back 100 percent of their passing yards (plus two five-star underclassman quarterbacks), 100 percent of their running back rushing yards, 56 percent of receiving yards, 100 percent of defensive line tackles, 76 percent of linebacker tackles, and 73 percent of defensive back tackles.

There are questions to answer in the receiving corps (Deon Cain and Ray-Ray McCloud are gone) and on an offensive line that loses three all-conference starters. But recruiting should assure the replacements are high-caliber athletes. Clemson is in great position to improve in 2018.

That is on its face awesome, but it forced coach Dabo Swinney’s staff to make an adjustment in recruiting.

I say unofficially because there are a couple ways to go above that number that are within the rules. Michigan signed 32 players last season, for instance.

Clemson had some last-minute recalculations to make.

The return of the entire DL complicates the numbers a little bit. Barring transfers Clemson will have 16 spots available as is. I expect 2-3 to attrition, and 18-19 in the class. If you see the staff start to take more and more kids, it’s a sign that they know players will be transferring.

But Clemson also signed only 14 players in its 2017 recruiting class, so the Tigers are used to being choosy.

You can only field a roster of 85 scholarship players. But attrition usually weeds things out, whether that’s players going to the NFL draft early, transferring, or leaving school or the football program by other means. Swinney is on record saying he doesn’t cut kids.

Clemson doesn’t have a ton of kids transfer out, because the Tigers have a hit rate that’s exceptional. In fact, it might be unsustainable. With most teams, players will often not end up panning out for multiple reasons and leave the program. The Tigers don’t have that problem, and the retention rate means players aren’t leaving and fewer can come in via a signing class.

Only five teams finished the 2017 recruiting class with a better average 247Sports Composite rating than Clemson. That means pound-for-pound, the Tigers had one of the best classes in the country, regardless of size last year.

As for 2018? Well, they already signed four of the country’s top nine players and two of the top three during the ESP. By the time February Signing Day was over, the Tigers laid claim to five different states’ best players (if you count DE Xavier Lawrence as a Floridian, since he went to IMG Academy for high school), including Signing Day addition WR Justyn Ross, Alabama’s No. player. That also includes Georgia No. 1 Trevor Lawrence, who has been the class’ best QB forever.

Clemson is at a place where it backfills its roster, stocking and stashing blue-chips who don’t need to play immediately because top-level upperclassmen talent is playing all four years in Death Valley.

A lot about Clemson’s rise has been unusual, so it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that the Tigers even do their own thing on Signing Day.