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Post being replied to

FWIW: Clemson's Rivals ranking from '14-'18 averages 10.4 by ribs

Fun with math. Clemson's Rivals recruiting class rankings for their National Championship roster:

2014: 12
2015: 4
2016: 6
2017: 22
2018: 6

Even removing the outlier(2017), their average Rivals ranking is 7. Are they are punching above their weight? If so, is it coaching? System? Both?

How big of a difference is there between a 1 or 2 ranked class vs. a 6 or 8?

As noted below, their 3 starting linebackers on the championship team were 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star.

If the "star" average matters (I think it's entirely overrated), ND has seen its average improve each of the last 4 years:

2017: 3.33
2018: 3.44
2019: 3.55
2020: 3.59

3.59 puts ND in the middle of the top 10 (5th) in star average for the 2020 class. But ND is taking a smaller class, and the overall rankings are star average combined with number of commits. So, yeah, ND will probably end up in the 8-12 range depending on the final rankings of their best commits.

Count me among those who don't think Kelly can elevate a top-12 roster to a top 2 team. Seems fairly obvious at this point. But Dabo can, apparently. His 2020 class is shaping up to be historically good.