Clemson paces ACC in ESPN Signing Day grades

Tyler Davis was one of a couple head-to-head wins for Clemson over divisional rival Florida State.

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Thursday, February 07 2019

Tyler Davis - Defensive Tackle
TigerNet: (4.74)

Height: 6-1 Weight: 293 Hometown: Apopka, FL (Wekiva HS) Class: 2019

ESPN:

#58 Overall, #7 DT, #6 FL

Rivals:

#175 Overall, #12 DT, #24 FL

24/7:

#227 Overall, #17 DT, #24 FL

Clemson's 2019 class graded with an 'A' in ESPN's National Signing Day grades for the Power 5 conferences.

"Four-star TE Jaelyn Lay is tall and can offer a big catch radius and be a red zone weapon," ESPN's analysis said. "On the offensive line, four-star guard Hunter Rayburn was one of the fastest-rising prospects in the spring. ESPN 300 OG William Putnam is yet another big win out of the Sunshine State, having picked Clemson over Florida State...

"The secondary also adds one of the top CB prospects in the class in Andrew Booth out of Georgia. ESPN 300 linebackers Bryton Constantin and LaVonta Bentley are need-fillers out of Louisiana and Alabama, respectively. ESPN 300 DT Tyler Davis out of the Orlando, Florida, area was another signing-day victory over the Seminoles. Three-star DT Etinosa Reuben is a name to remember down the line."

Clemson winning a couple head-to-head battles with Florida State was likely the difference between an 'A' and the 'B+' FSU's class was given by ESPN. Their class was headlined by one-time Clemson targets in CB Akeem Dent, LB Kalen Deloach and DE Curtis Fann.

The rest of the conference earned at least a passing grade in varying degrees: Virginia Tech (B), Miami (B), NC State (B), UNC (B-), Virginia (B-), Duke (B-), Wake Forest (C), Boston College (C), Syracuse (C), Georgia Tech (C), Pitt (C-), Louisville (C-).

Playoff participants from 2018 all joined Clemson with an 'A' grade: Alabama (A+), Oklahoma (A) and Notre Dame (A-).

2019 out of conference opponents Texas A&M (A) and South Carolina (B+) each posted top-20 classes as well.