Before Dabo Swinney’s arrival, Clemson was regularly posting recruiting classes ranked between Nos. 10-15 under Tommy Bowden.

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The highest steps are the hardest to climb. But the Tigers have progressed to the elite point that finishing among the top-five is the expectation – at least when scholarship numbers allow.

With Clemson already boasting the specs for another national contender on the heels of a program-best No. 2 class, Tigerillustrated.com is taking a deep dive into how the pieces of the puzzle come together on a position-by-position basis.