Grading the Top 25 recruiting classes after 2021 Early Signing Day

No. 18 LSU — Grade: B

It’s still a little weird that Brian Kelly is the LSU head coach, although not as weird as his dance with five-star quarterback Walker Howard, but they man, you do what ya gotta do.

It’s recruiting.

And despite just being hired and the Tigers struggling on the field the past two seasons, Kelly put together a solid recruiting class — one that ranks 18th after 2021 Early Signing Day.

Will Campbell gives the Tigers a top-five offensive tackle to go along with Howard (34th overall) who is the fifth-ranked QB. LSU also has just 13 commitments which should give it room to operate in the transfer portal or the late recruiting cycle.

No. 17 Clemson — Grade: B-

A lot of people are being really hard on Clemson and to be fair, the Tigers have suffered some hits on the recruiting trail this cycle. But of the 12 recruits Clemson signed, eight of them are ranked as four stars or higher and each is ranked in the top 211 overall.

Cade Klubnik is a five-star quarterback and is the No. 17 overall recruit in 2022, which is a big win right there for the Tigers and Dabo Swinney.

Many programs would gladly trade for Clemson’s haul but it doesn’t have the depth required to have a top-5 group as the Tigers had in 2021.