1. Clemson is still Clemson, as we wrote to close last week's edition.

We've incorporated the marathon analogy for recruiting quite a bit already this cycle, inasmuch perhaps because of the lapses between Tigers' commitments and the deliberate pace they've taken overall this calendar year -- which we've claimed intentional.

Here's a stretch during the race where your heart rate has certainly accelerated. Two top-100 four-star defensive backs hop on board, to the surprise of the outside recruiting world, and we've foreshadowed the high probability of another coming.

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Clemson catapulted 16 places to No. 16 in the Rivals.com team recruiting class rankings and would be tied for the second-best average star rating in the country if not for a two-star kickoff specialist counting against its figure.

How quickly the complexion changes.

Which is the rollercoaster that the fan bases for each of the elite teams ride, in our observation. Every defeat is a staff indictment, every victory a validation.

Hey, it's human nature to react in real-time. But it's what you have after the collective months or years of recruiting a specific cycle that matters, not necessarily where things stand in a particular moment.

Yes, put another way, it's the ones you get.

Wait and judge the ones Clemson got was our message. Maybe it works out for the Tigers, maybe it doesn't -- but there wasn't evidence yet saying it wouldn't, and their track record class over class placed high odds it would.

No summer official visits, no clandestine pandemic visits, a less aggressive approach and smaller board than others, the introduction of NIL influence -- surely we're missing a few of the other common message board criticisms levied on Dabo Swinney's philosophy, which we saw one national writer insist last week will absolutely have to change with the times.

If we had an endorsement dollar for every time we've heard that one during Clemson's run.

From this perch, sure looks like the Tigers still have their same ol' fastball.

2. Speaking of baseball analogies, remember in our July 9 notes when we suggested it wasn't so far-fetched to think Clemson could go 3-for-3 in its top cornerback pursuits.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. thinks that one could have been crushed pretty far out of the park.

Per our custom, we start by closing the book on the new acquisition(s), which popped publicly Saturday evening within an hour of one another.