To fairly frame how Clemson concluded its 2022 recruiting class, it's only appropriate to take a step back and consider what's in the rear-view mirror starting on the morning of Dec. 5 when the news broke that Brent Venables was leaving for Oklahoma.

There was real tumult in the shock of seeing him go, even when it was a no-brainer for him to go, followed by the high-profile decommitments, followed by the news that Dabo Swinney was staying in-house to replace Venables and Tony Elliott, followed by the bowl win and thinking the turnover was over, only to see Todd Bates follow Venables.

Those are jolting developments for a program that has been defined by rare serenity and stability during Swinney's brilliant run.

It's not easy to hold it all together internally during all that. It's also not easy to see outside perceptions of you being in disarray and losing your footing among the elite.

Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone message board!

But in much the same way the 2021 football team kept its head down and gradually turned it around one step at a time, the staff methodically and calmly proceeded through the last month of finishing a recruiting class that ended up ranked No. 10 by Rivals.com.