Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have received more bad news on the recruiting trail.
It has been tough sledding for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers on the recruiting trail in recent years, and this week, Clemson was dealt another tough blow.
Four-star linebacker Noah Glover, who Swinney and the Tigers have been pursuing, has released a list of six finalists for his recruitment ... and Clemson did not qualify.
Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech made the cut, representing yet another top prospect that has spurned the Tigers.
There was a time when Clemson would always be among the top teams to land the best talents on the circuit, but things have changed.
The new NIL era has made it much more difficult for the Tigers to compete, and Swinney's rather obsolete recruiting methods have not helped matters, either.
Not only that, but Swinney's refusal to dip into the transfer portal — up until this winter, where he was subsequently burned by linebacker Luke Ferrelli — has made it challenging for Clemson to build championship-caliber rosters over the last several years.
Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney. Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images.Glover is the ninth-ranked linebacker and the 185th-ranked player overall in the class of 2027, via 247 Sports' composite rankings. He is also the No. 2 player in the state of Virginia. Losing out on him definitely hurts.
To be fair, the Tigers have already secured commitments from five recruits for the class of 2027, so they are doing better than many other schools. However, only one of those recruits was a four-star prospect: wide receiver Trey Wimbley.
Clemson entered 2025 with national title aspirations, but went just 7-6 and what was quite possibly the most disappointing season in the Swinney era.
It also marked the Tigers' worst record since going 6-7 in 2010, which was Swinney's second year with the program.
Between 2015 and 2019, Clemson made it to four National Championship Games and won two of them. Also, from 2011 through 2022, the Tigers posted double-digit win showings every season.
Clemson has now posted single-digit win totals in two of the past three years and has also tallied three straight campaigns of four or more losses. The last time the Tigers had lost four games prior to this stretch was back in 2011.
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