Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have received some bad news on the recruiting trail.
There was a time when Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers were the gold standard in college football.
Between 2015 and 2019, Clemson made four National Championship Game appearances, winning two of them. The Tigers dominated the recruiting trail, and players were practically begging to play for Swinney.
A whole lot has changed since then.
Clemson is no longer one of the very top powers in the country, and that has been made obvious with the Tigers constantly getting snubbed by top recruits.
It happened again this week.
Five-star 2027 cornerback Joshua Dobson recently revealed his top five schools, with the list featuring Auburn, LSU, Michigan, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
Clemson was not included.
This should not come as much of a surprise, as the Tigers were not even able to schedule an official visit with Dobson recently.
Clemson made an offer to Dobson last June, and the Cornelius N.C. product proceeded to pay a couple of unofficial visits to the school afterward.
Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney. Credit: Ken Ruinard - Imagn Images.Dobson's last meeting with the Tigers was back in August, and with the elite defender having received 30 offers in total, he clearly was not strongly considering Clemson.
Dobson is the third-ranked cornerback and 11th-ranked player overall in the class of 2027, so the Tigers definitely missed out on one heck of a talent.
Such has been the story for Clemson the past several years.
The Tigers have secured commitments from seven players for the class of 2027, including four-star wide receiver Trey Wimbley and four-star linebacker Bryce Kish.
Five-stars, however, have been hard to come by. Clemson also does not have a single five-star commit for its 2026 class.
The Tigers went just 7-6 last season in spite of entering the year with national title aspirations. It marked Clemson's worst finish since going 6-7 in 2010, which was Swinney's second full season as head coach.
Hot seat speculation has swirled around Swinney heading into 2026, and while he probably has earned enough good will with the program, you do have to wonder just how much of a leash he will have.
The Tigers will open up next season at LSU on Sept. 5.
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