Signing day notes: Clemson class a consensus No. 1

Uiagalelei makes it two-straight years with a signee from California for Clemson.

by TigerNet Staff - Wed Dec 18 16:25:48 GMT-04:00 2019

CLEMSON, S.C. — Upon the opening of the early signing period on Wednesday, a total of 24 players signed National Letters of Intent to play football at Clemson. The early signing period will conclude on Friday, Dec. 20, prior to National Signing Day on Feb. 5, 2020.

Notes

*As of 3 p.m., Clemson’s group ranked as the consensus top class in the country, sitting atop rankings for Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN. If Clemson were to retain the top spot when recruiting classes are finalized in February, it would mark Clemson’s first time signing the highest-ranked recruiting class in the country.

If it stands, Clemson’s No. 1 ranking would exceed its top all-time rankings on Rivals (No. 4 in 2015), 247Sports/Scout (No. 5 in 2018) and ESPN (No. 5 in 2018).

*Clemson has now produced six consecutive signing classes that have ranked in the top 10 nationally according to at least one major recruiting service. This class is Clemson’s 10th straight to rank in the top 15.

To date, every signing class in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure has won at least one ACC Championship at Clemson. *Every signing class since 2013 has won at least one national championship, with exception of the 2019 group, which will play in the Fiesta Bowl in a College Football Playoff semifinal as true freshmen on Dec. 28.

*Clemson’s 24 future student-athletes announced Wednesday represent 12 states plus Canada, the second-most states represented in a class under Dabo Swinney. Clemson signed players from 14 states last year.

Since 1972, Clemson has signed student-athletes to football scholarships from 34 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

*Clemson added eight players who ranked as five-star prospects by at least one major recruiting service, including Bryan Bresee (consensus), Myles Murphy (consensus), D.J. Uiagalelei (247Sports and Rivals), Demarkcus Bowman (247Sports and Rivals), Fred Davis (247Sports and Rivals), Demonte Capehart (247Sports) and Trenton Simpson (Rivals) and Mitchell Mayes (ESPN).

*Per Rivals’ rankings, Clemson signed the top two players in the nation (No. 1 Bryan Bresee and No. 2 D.J. Uiagalelei). It marks the first time in Rivals ratings (since 2002) that one program has signed the nation’s top two recruits in a single class.

*Per 247Sports’ rankings, Clemson signed two of the nation’s top three players (No. 1 Bryan Bresee and No. 3 Myles Murphy) in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. It marks the second time in the last three years that Clemson has signed two of the top three players in 247Sports’ rankings (2018: No. 1 Trevor Lawrence and No. 3 Xavier Thomas).

*Clemson signed eight of the top 50 players in the ESPN 300. As of 3 p.m. (with six players in that top 50 still awaiting commitments), Clemson’s eight top-50 signees doubled the two closest teams in the country (Georgia and LSU, four each). Clemson’s eight top-50 ESPN signees exceeded the program’s previous best of six from 2008.

Clemson signed four defensive linemen ranked in the top 50 of the ESPN 300 and became the first program to sign four top-50 defensive linemen in a single class since the inception of the ESPN 300 in 2006.

Clemson signed four members of USA Today’s Chosen 25, including No. 1 Bryan Bresee, No. 3 D.J. Uiagalelei, No. 7 Myles Murphy and No. 17 Demarkcus Bowman.

*A class-leading six members of the group played high school football in Georgia. It marks the fourth time in the last five years that Georgia has produced the most or tied for the most members in Clemson’s recruiting class.

With the signings of Bryan Bresee and Tayquon Johnson in back-to-back classes, Clemson has now signed players from Maryland in consecutive years for the first time since 2013-14 (Dorian O’Daniel and Justin Falcinelli).

*One year after Joseph Ngata (Folsom, Calif.) became the first signee from the state of California to come to Clemson since 1991, Clemson added D.J. Uiagalelei (Inland Empire, Calif.), giving Clemson signees from California in back-to-back years for the first time on record.

*Wide receiver Ajou Ajou (Brooks, Alberta, Canada by way of Clearwater, Fla.) became Clemson’s first signee from Canada.

*Offensive lineman Walker Parks (Lexington, Ky.) became Clemson’s first signee from Kentucky since Justin Miller in 2002 and only its third Kentucky signee since 1982 (linebacker Ronnie Davis). Parks became Swinney’s first Kentucky signee as head coach.

With Parks’ addition from Kentucky, Swinney has now signed student-athletes from half of the states in the country (25) in his head coaching career.

With the signing of wide receiver E.J. Williams, Clemson has now signed a player from Central H.S. in Phenix City, Ala. in three straight years.

*With the addition of offensive lineman Bryn Tucker from Knoxville, Tenn., Clemson added another player from the same area that produced current Clemson wide receivers Amari Rodgers and Tee Higgins. Tucker and Rodgers both attended Knoxville Catholic High School.

*Safety Tyler Venables, who played at nearby Daniel High School, will join his father (Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables) and brother (linebacker Jake Venables) at Clemson. Tyler signed his letter of intent on his father’s 49th birthday.

*Placekicker Tanner Tessmann (FC Dallas Developmental Academy) will join Clemson’s decorated history of two-sport stars who competed as both placekickers and soccer players, a lineage that includes Obed Ariri, Donald Igwebuike and Mark Buchholz.