The top 50 recruits combined between Clemson and South Carolina
By: Larry Williams
From fans' perspective, there's so much about a rivalry that goes beyond what happens on that one day a year when the two teams meet.
Yes, the winner on the field gets bragging rights and all that.
But score is kept in so many ways other than on the scoreboard as fans cross paths in person and online.
So here's another way to keep score as the longing for next season takes on far more gravity than usual.
Let's see where Clemson stands against some of its rivals by combining the two rosters and ranking the top 50 players.
The criteria is pretty simple: Where each player was ranked by Rivals.com as a high school prospect.
The obvious flaw in this method is that sometimes the recruiting analysts get it wrong. Travis Etienne, for example, would unquestionably rank near the top of this list. But since he was a 3-star in the 2017 class, he didn't make the Rivals250 and thus doesn't make this Top 50.
Even with that in mind, it's still fun to examine the raw numbers and see where Clemson stands compared to some of its chief competition.
We'll start with Clemson and South Carolina, with plans to do the same over the next week or so while comparing the Tigers to some of their other rivals.
So here's the Clemson-South Carolina Top 50, in which the Tigers own 34 of the spots:
1. Bryan Bresee, DL (No. 1, 2020 class)
1. Trevor Lawrence, QB (No. 1, 2018)
3. D.J. Uiagalelei, QB (No. 3, 2020)
4. Myles Murphy, DE (No. 4, 2020)
5. Xavier Thomas, DE (No. 5, 2018)
6. Zacch Pickens, DE (No. 9, 2018)
7. Trenton Simpson, LB (No. 11, 2020)
8. Andrew Booth, CB (No. 14, 2019)
9. Justyn Ross, WR (No. 15, 2018)
10. Jackson Carman, OT (No. 16, 2018)
11. Jordan Burch, DE (No. 17, 2020)
12. Demarkcus Bowman, RB (No. 26, 2020)
12. K.J. Henry, DE (No. 26, 2018)
14. Joe Ngata, WR (No. 27, 2019)
15. Derion Kendrick, WR/CB (No. 30, 2018)
16. MarShawn Lloyd, RB (No. 33, 2020)
17. Cornell Powell, WR (No. 36, 2016)
18. Walker Parks, OL (No. 38, 2020)
19. Ryan Hilinski, QB (No. 45, 2019)
19. Rick Sandidge, DT (No. 45, 2018)
21. E.J. Williams, WR (No. 50, 2020)
22. Fred Davis, CB (No. 52, 2020)
23. DeMonte Capehart, DT (No. 54, 2020)
24. Frank Ladson, WR (No. 56, 2019)
25. Sheridan Jones, CB (No. 89, 2019)
26. Luke Doty, QB (No. 99, 2020)
26. Mario Goodrich, CB (No. 99, 2018)
28. Joseph Anderson, DE, (No. 102, 2019)
29. OrTre Smith, WR (No. 104, 2017)
30. LeAnthony Williams, CB (No. 111, 2017)
31. Dylan Wonnum, OL (No. 115, 2018)
32. Will Putnam, OL (No. 120, 2019)
33. Paul Tchio, OL (No. 124, 2020)
34. Jordan Williams, DL (No. 135, 2017)
35. Mitchell Mayes, OL (No. 141, 2020)
36. Joseph Charleston, DB (No. 155, 2019)
37. Jaelyn Lay, TE (No. 157, 2019)
38. Taisun Phommachanh, QB (No. 168, 2019)
39. Tyler Davis, DT (No. 175, 2019)
40. LaVonta Bentley, LB (No. 179, 2019)
41. Amari Rodgers, WR (No. 186, 2017)
42. Jaycee Horn, CB (No. 189, 2018)
42. Keveon Mullins, WR (No. 189, 2019)
44. Josh Vann, WR (No. 191, 2018)
44. Cam Smith, WR (No. 191, 2019)
46. Chad Terrell, WR (No. 194, 2017)
47. Nyles Pinckney, DT (No. 196, 2016)
48. Dakereon Joyner, QB (No. 199, 2018)
49. MJ Webb, DT (No. 200, 2017)
50. Bryton Constantin, LB (No. 206, 2019)
A few of the more interesting takeaways:
-- The top end of these rankings reflect what we've all known as Clemson not only turned the rivalry back in its favor after five consecutive losses from 2009 to 2013, but shifted into hyperdrive while South Carolina experienced a pronounced decline. The Tigers' advantage in top-end talent is almost absurd, with Dabo Swinney's team collecting nine of the top 10 players, 13 of the top 15, and 20 of the top 25.
-- The Tigers have gone national in recruiting, and that is hammered home with a look at where the top players are from. Only one of Clemson's nine players in the top 10 is from South Carolina (Xavier Thomas). The others are from Maryland, Georgia (2), California, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Ohio. Furthermore, just two of Clemson's top 17 players are from the Palmetto State (Thomas and Derion Kendrick).
-- It would be fascinating to go back to, say, 2011 or 2012 and undertake this same study. The Gamecocks' roster was loaded with high-end talent as Steve Spurrier parlayed major recruiting victories into three straight 11-win seasons. We'd guess the distribution would've been fairly close to even then. Much different story now, of course.
-- Bottom line: Clemson's total ownership of this rivalry, with six consecutive wins by an average margin of 25.3 points, appears likely to become even more pronounced as the Tigers continue to stockpile talent.
-- We are interested to hear some of your observations and conclusions from this list and again stay tuned for more Top 50 rankings to come soon.
FROM THE TIGER FAN SHOP: Click HERE to see all of our officially licensed CLEMSON apparel and gear!
By: Larry Williams
From fans' perspective, there's so much about a rivalry that goes beyond what happens on that one day a year when the two teams meet.
Yes, the winner on the field gets bragging rights and all that.
But score is kept in so many ways other than on the scoreboard as fans cross paths in person and online.
So here's another way to keep score as the longing for next season takes on far more gravity than usual.
Let's see where Clemson stands against some of its rivals by combining the two rosters and ranking the top 50 players.
The criteria is pretty simple: Where each player was ranked by Rivals.com as a high school prospect.
The obvious flaw in this method is that sometimes the recruiting analysts get it wrong. Travis Etienne, for example, would unquestionably rank near the top of this list. But since he was a 3-star in the 2017 class, he didn't make the Rivals250 and thus doesn't make this Top 50.
Even with that in mind, it's still fun to examine the raw numbers and see where Clemson stands compared to some of its chief competition.
We'll start with Clemson and South Carolina, with plans to do the same over the next week or so while comparing the Tigers to some of their other rivals.
So here's the Clemson-South Carolina Top 50, in which the Tigers own 34 of the spots:
1. Bryan Bresee, DL (No. 1, 2020 class)
1. Trevor Lawrence, QB (No. 1, 2018)
3. D.J. Uiagalelei, QB (No. 3, 2020)
4. Myles Murphy, DE (No. 4, 2020)
5. Xavier Thomas, DE (No. 5, 2018)
6. Zacch Pickens, DE (No. 9, 2018)
7. Trenton Simpson, LB (No. 11, 2020)
8. Andrew Booth, CB (No. 14, 2019)
9. Justyn Ross, WR (No. 15, 2018)
10. Jackson Carman, OT (No. 16, 2018)
11. Jordan Burch, DE (No. 17, 2020)
12. Demarkcus Bowman, RB (No. 26, 2020)
12. K.J. Henry, DE (No. 26, 2018)
14. Joe Ngata, WR (No. 27, 2019)
15. Derion Kendrick, WR/CB (No. 30, 2018)
16. MarShawn Lloyd, RB (No. 33, 2020)
17. Cornell Powell, WR (No. 36, 2016)
18. Walker Parks, OL (No. 38, 2020)
19. Ryan Hilinski, QB (No. 45, 2019)
19. Rick Sandidge, DT (No. 45, 2018)
21. E.J. Williams, WR (No. 50, 2020)
22. Fred Davis, CB (No. 52, 2020)
23. DeMonte Capehart, DT (No. 54, 2020)
24. Frank Ladson, WR (No. 56, 2019)
25. Sheridan Jones, CB (No. 89, 2019)
26. Luke Doty, QB (No. 99, 2020)
26. Mario Goodrich, CB (No. 99, 2018)
28. Joseph Anderson, DE, (No. 102, 2019)
29. OrTre Smith, WR (No. 104, 2017)
30. LeAnthony Williams, CB (No. 111, 2017)
31. Dylan Wonnum, OL (No. 115, 2018)
32. Will Putnam, OL (No. 120, 2019)
33. Paul Tchio, OL (No. 124, 2020)
34. Jordan Williams, DL (No. 135, 2017)
35. Mitchell Mayes, OL (No. 141, 2020)
36. Joseph Charleston, DB (No. 155, 2019)
37. Jaelyn Lay, TE (No. 157, 2019)
38. Taisun Phommachanh, QB (No. 168, 2019)
39. Tyler Davis, DT (No. 175, 2019)
40. LaVonta Bentley, LB (No. 179, 2019)
41. Amari Rodgers, WR (No. 186, 2017)
42. Jaycee Horn, CB (No. 189, 2018)
42. Keveon Mullins, WR (No. 189, 2019)
44. Josh Vann, WR (No. 191, 2018)
44. Cam Smith, WR (No. 191, 2019)
46. Chad Terrell, WR (No. 194, 2017)
47. Nyles Pinckney, DT (No. 196, 2016)
48. Dakereon Joyner, QB (No. 199, 2018)
49. MJ Webb, DT (No. 200, 2017)
50. Bryton Constantin, LB (No. 206, 2019)
A few of the more interesting takeaways:
-- The top end of these rankings reflect what we've all known as Clemson not only turned the rivalry back in its favor after five consecutive losses from 2009 to 2013, but shifted into hyperdrive while South Carolina experienced a pronounced decline. The Tigers' advantage in top-end talent is almost absurd, with Dabo Swinney's team collecting nine of the top 10 players, 13 of the top 15, and 20 of the top 25.
-- The Tigers have gone national in recruiting, and that is hammered home with a look at where the top players are from. Only one of Clemson's nine players in the top 10 is from South Carolina (Xavier Thomas). The others are from Maryland, Georgia (2), California, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Ohio. Furthermore, just two of Clemson's top 17 players are from the Palmetto State (Thomas and Derion Kendrick).
-- It would be fascinating to go back to, say, 2011 or 2012 and undertake this same study. The Gamecocks' roster was loaded with high-end talent as Steve Spurrier parlayed major recruiting victories into three straight 11-win seasons. We'd guess the distribution would've been fairly close to even then. Much different story now, of course.
-- Bottom line: Clemson's total ownership of this rivalry, with six consecutive wins by an average margin of 25.3 points, appears likely to become even more pronounced as the Tigers continue to stockpile talent.
-- We are interested to hear some of your observations and conclusions from this list and again stay tuned for more Top 50 rankings to come soon.
FROM THE TIGER FAN SHOP: Click HERE to see all of our officially licensed CLEMSON apparel and gear!
