Fact or Fiction: Clemson's loss to Notre Dame will impact its recruiting
Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman, Paul Strelow of TigerIllustrated.com, Jeremy Birmingham of DottingTheEyes.com and Scott Greene of TerrapinSportsReport.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
*****
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Missouri will flip a top in-state target | Notre Dame locked up Peyton Bowen with Clemson win
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board
*****
1. Clemson's loss to Notre Dame will impact the Tigers' recruiting efforts down the road.
Friedman's take: FACT. This was an eye-opening loss for Clemson – Dabo Swinney and the players have said as much – and that should inform the program's next steps. Clemson isn't at the end of its run as a dominant recruiting power. The Tigers have a top 10 recruiting class right now and they will likely remain in relatively the same position by the time the rankings are finalized. But the issues on offense and on defense were easy to spot over the weekend. If they had the personnel on the roster to fix the problems they would have been fixed already.
Instead, the coaching staff will need to adjust, and that should be encouraging for the fans. Will we see the Tigers dip their toes in the transfer portal for some immediate help? Which prospects will they prioritize in the 2024 class? These are all things that will have to be revisited by Swinney and the coaching staff.
Has the perception of Clemson changed in the eyes of recruits? Possibly for some, but winning, and doing so in a dominant fashion, can cause people to have a short memory.
Strelow's take: FICTION. It might. But it's way too early to tell what impact the defeat will have on Clemson's season. The Tigers could go on to finish 11-1, 10-2, beat UNC in the ACC championship game and be able to write off the Notre Dame loss as an outlier. Teams lose games. We're not having this same conversation with two losses on Alabama's ledger.
Style points do matter, and Clemson has work to do to readjust perception now. But end-times prophesies were pouring in when the Tigers started last season 4-3, and they proceeded to beat UGA, Bama and others for several standout defensive tackles and high four-star quarterback Chris Vizzina in the offseason.
So to say that we can reasonably predict how a single defeat influences 2024 recruiting decisions seems quite premature.
*****
2. Ohio State will sign at least two prospects from Pennsylvania in the 2024 class.
Friedman’s take: FICTION. I still think there's a good chance Ohio State pulls two players out of Pennsylvania in the 2024 class, but I'll play the odds and say fiction here. The Buckeyes are the favorite to land Tyseer Denmark, and it's been made clear to the Rivals250 receiver that he is a priority. After Denmark, it seems like Ohio State could be a landing spot for running back Quinton Martin. The big, physical running back seems to have the Buckeyes and Penn State at or very near the top of his list at the moment, but a decision is not imminent. With a lot of time left in his recruitment the long list of teams pursuing him have time to jockey for position.
Birmingham’s take: FICTION. Ohio State is the early leader – and likely landing spot – for Denmark, but beyond the four-star wideout the Buckeyes have only offered two other players inside of the Keystone State. And though they’ve hosted both Quinton Martin and Anthony Speca during the 2022 season they don’t seem to be particularly pushing hard for either player.
Could that change? Sure. But it’s not the normal approach from Ohio State in Pennsylvania. They know that if they want to steal someone away from Penn State it usually requires an early and aggressive push and they’re only doing that with Denmark.
*****
3. Maryland is a serious contender for Nyckoles Harbor.
Friedman's take: FACT. Don't sleep on the Terps for the local five-star. Harbor is very familiar with the Maryland program, the coaches and players. Staying close to home may not be high on his list of priorities, but it would be an added bonus for him and his family. Maryland can also play the NIL game. If that becomes the deciding factor, there are a few deep pockets connected to the Maryland program that could back this kind of effort.
As it stands right now, it's not very likely Harbor signs with Maryland, but that could change over the next few months. He says he isn't going to sign until the February signing day and has official visits planned for LSU (Dec. 2), Maryland (Dec. 9) and Miami (Dec. 16). Even though he already took official visits to Michigan and South Carolina, he is trying to visit each of them again before he commits.
Greene's take: FACT. Harbor has visited Maryland on numerous occasions, and the Terps are currently one of his last planned official visits. Mike Locksley is a DMV native and has a proven track record of landing big-time local prospects, from former Terps tight end Vernon Davis to current wideout Rakim Jarrett. Throw in the fact that Maryland has the backing of a company like Under Armour and its NIL package is as attractive and competitive as anyone's.