Clemson Tigers

Clemson recruiting impact tracker: Week 10 vs Syracuse

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Recruiting is the lifeblood of all college football programs. In order to compete for national championships on a yearly basis, you must recruit at a high level on a yearly basis. Clemson football recruiting has continuously improved under Dabo Swinney. The Tigers have established recruiting pipelines in Florida with guys like Sammy Watkins, Deon Cain, and Ray-Ray McCloud; Georgia with Vic Beasley, Deshaun Watson, and Wayne Gallman; and in the 2017 recruiting class the Tigers are well represented in Tennessee with commits from Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers, and Cordarrian Richardson.

In Clemson’s match-up with Syracuse, there were plenty of new faces that had an impact on the game, including Tanner Muse, Tavien Feaster, and Nick Schuessler.

Lets break down this blowout victory by recruiting class, starting from the smallest impact on the game to the largest impact on the game.

2016 recruiting class

The 2016 recruiting class will be special in due time. These freshman are big and athletic. Against Syracuse, there was only a handful of true freshman that played, but, they made their presence felt.

Tavien Feaster is finally beginning to log more carries, the freshman speedster recorded 9 carries for 28 yards.

Dexter Lawrence was a man among boys this past weekend, recording 6 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss. It is usually hard for young lineman to have a big impact on the game, but, it makes things a lot easier when you are 6’5, 340 pounds.

Trayvon Mullen earned some valuable playing time and he made the most of it. Mullen logged 4 tackles.

James Skalski (Ben Bouleware 2.0) recorded 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Skalski was overshadowed by fellow 2016 recruits Tre Lamar and Shaq Smith, however, James has proved his worth with his play this season. Clemson’s defense continues to stockpile talent.

Tre Lamar was relatively quiet in this one, grabbing 1 tackle.

As you can see the 2016 recruiting class is well represented on the Tigers defense, but, don’t let that fool you. There are some guys on the offensive side of the ball that will have a huge impact down the line, including Cornell Powell (WR) and Diondre Overton (WR).

2012 recruiting class

Members of the 2012 recruiting class are difficult to find on this team. These elder-statesmen are nearing the end of their college careers, but, that doesn’t mean they are done playing just yet. These senior citizens outplayed the true freshman in my estimation.

Nick Schuessler came in guns blazing in relief of Deshaun Watson. The veteran quarterback completed 11 of his 17 passing attempts for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns. Schuessler also added 3 carries for 9 yards.

Carlos Watkins was his usual disruptive-self. The mammoth defensive lineman recorded 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss.

Jay Guillermo has been a mainstay on Clemson’s offensive line for years, as was the case against Syracuse. Guillermo and the Tigers offensive line did not let up a single sack against Syracuse.

Andy Teasdall punted the ball twice for an average of 37.5 yards per punt.

2013 recruiting class

The 2013 recruiting class has been vital to the Tigers undefeated season thus far. Offensivley, Mike Williams and Jordan Leggett are two of Deshaun Watson’s favorite targets; Ben Bouleware, Cordrea Tankerlsey, and Jadar Johnson are the leaders of this stingy Tigers defense.

Mike Williams snagged 6 catches for 106 yards and 1 touchdown.

Jordan Leggett was quiet in this one, grabbing 2 catches for 31 yards.

Wayne Gallman ran the ball 10 times for 63 yards and 1 touchdown.

Tyrone Crowder (RG) helped sure up the Tigers offensive line.

Seth Ryan made an appearance in the Tigers blowout over Syracuse recording 2 catches for 17 yards.

Tyshon Dye had 1 carry for 12 yards.

Jadar Johnson continued his dominance this season, leading the team with 7 tackles.

Ben Bouleware followed suit with 7 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Bouleware also gave his best WWE impression on this play.

Clemson’s Ben Boulware Takes Syracuse Running Back Dontae Strickland To Suplex City pic.twitter.com/TEnBlYncQ3

— SportsCast (@SportsCast_THN) November 6, 2016

Dorian O’Daniel added 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.

Ryan Carter recorded 2 tackles and 1 interception.

2014 recruiting class

Had Deshaun Watson not left the game with an injury, the 2014 recruiting class likely would have topped this list. Unfortunately Watson was, in fact, injured. Despite his injury the 2014 recruiting class was stellar in this one.

Deshaun Watson completed 13 of his 16 passing attempts for 169 and 2 touchdowns. Watson added 39 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground.

Artavis Scott recorded 7 receptions for 45 yards and 1 touchdown.

C.J. Fuller logged 5 carries for 24 yards.

Adam Choice ran the ball 6 times for 22 yards.

Hunter Renfrow had 2 catches for 17 yards.

Trevion Thompson recorded 1 catch for 15 yards.

Taylor Hearn helped anchor the offensive line.

Kendall Joseph was less productive than usual logging just 4 tackles.

Chris Register and Richard Yeargin both had 2 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

Jabril Robinson had 1 tackle and 1 tackle for loss.

Greg Huegel made 2 of his 3 field goal attempts with a long of 46 yards.

2015 recruiting class

The 2015 recruiting class was dominant in all phases of the game against Syracuse. Deon Cain had his best game so far in his young career, as did Tanner Muse.

Deon Cain led the Tigers in receiving with 5 receptions for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cain’s blend of size and speed was simply too much for Syracuse’s secondary.

Kelly Bryant completed 2 of his 4 passing attempts for 21 yards.

Tucker Israel completed his lone passing attempt for 3 yards.

Van Smith added 3 tackles against the Orange, which brings him to 64 on the year.

Tanner Muse had 3 tackles, 2 of which were bone rattling. Muse also returned an interception for a 64 yard touchdown.

Mark Fields was lined up against Syracuse’s best wide reciever, Amba Etta-Tawo, for much of the game. Fields recorded 2 tackles.

J.D. Davis had 3 tackles.

Jalen Williams, Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, and Albert Huggins each recorded 2 tackles.

This group of sophomore’s continues to show their maturity in their play. There was no let down after the Tigers big victory over Florida State, each and every player on the team came out focused and ready to play. Dabo Swinney and his staff have done a great job of both, assembling and developing this team.