We are continuing our final phase of wide receiver recruiting comparison by comparing Clemson to schools outside of the ACC. We tried to choose schools that Clemson routinely plays, has recently played, or that the Tigers recruit against annually. Consequently, we targeted schools in the Southeast and the SEC in general. Please refer to the figures and tables shown below for data regarding this area. Obviously, we will toss in our commentary where necessary. We plan to analyze all position group recruiting in a similar fashion, so if you have any recommendations or would like to see some other aspect/comparison, let us know so that we can incorporate your requests/inquiries.
Table I and Figure 1 (below) both illustrate Clemson's ranking based on receiver class size since 2006. Five of the six schools we used for comparison brought in larger receiver classes, on average, than the Tigers. The lone team that brought in fewer receivers per class than the Tigers was UGa, which brought in two receivers from 2006 to 2010 and three receivers in 2011. The other teams we examined each brought in well over three receivers per class, with Alabama and South Carolina leading the way with 3.67 receivers per class. Top hauls include South Carolina's 2007 class and Auburn's 2009 class which each signed six receivers. Five receivers were signed by Bama/LSU in 2008 and S. Carolina in 2009.
Clemson is behind the others in receiver class size. I have not looked at each of the individual positions yet, but believe that we will see the other non-ACC schools with numbers advantages due to a more common over signing strategy a lot of these schools utilize. I feel that Clemson is in decent shape numbers-wise here even as the Tigers trail others in receiver recruiting. Clemson's '09 class was unusual and does drag down these numbers, so I would expect to see three WRs a season signed by Swinney and the CU staff.
Table I: Wide Receiver Recruiting Class Size
Figure 1: Wide Receiver Recruiting Class Size
Figure 2: Wide Receiver Recruiting Class Size
Table II and Figure 3 show the average star-rating per player for each team, as shown below. Clemson (3.48 stars/player) was better than the average star-rating of the other teams listed in this article. One should note that South Florida brings this average down a good bit. Alabama, Georgia, and LSU brought in higher average star rated talent than Clemson during this time period. Thus, Clemson is the median team in this exercise.
Table II: Overall Average Player Star Rating
Figure 3: Receiver Recruiting--Average Player Star Rating
Figure 4: Average Wide Receiver Recruiting Class Average Player Star Rating
Clemson is at a stark numbers disadvantage compared to most of this group. While a 0.60 player per class difference does catch everyone's attention, it is not too terribly alarming due to the realization that 2009 was unusual. We also think that anticipated limitations that could be placed on SEC schools will bring this average down to around three receivers per class, which is what Clemson should be aiming for as well. The Tigers are the median squad in terms of per player star rating. While we do not like being "average," South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama have each signed an elite receiver during this time period. Clemson's receivers' star-ratings were, on average, better than S Florida, S Carolina, and Auburn but trailed LSU, Alabama, and Georgia in this category. Based on these ratings, Clemson's receiver recruiting is on par with these other Southeast schools despite the numbers gap per class.