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1. Patience is not the ability to wait. But the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.

That saying might strike more of a chord if written in fancy script, framed on your foyer wall.

But there's no water lily and hyacinth scented candle to set the mood here or on The WestZone message board. Moreover, we acknowledge it's much easier to keep perspective -- or just avoid overreaching alarm -- when the on-field product doesn't trigger cause for concern.

Not to mention, oftentimes it takes discord to bring about the changes necessary for improvement.

Clemson's early-season challenges and struggles have everyone searching for solutions -- and many folks want to see immediate action accompanying those answers.

That there hasn't been a huge wave of favorable Clemson recruiting news this month only amplifies the angst and perpetuates perception about the Tigers trending downward.

To say that the results, stats and eyeball test haven't left an impression on various recruits would be disingenuous.

Yet we would also be careful in drawing too much conclusion from the recruiting lull for two reasons:

This happens every year around this time based on how Clemson recruits, and it's magnified this fall by the game schedule.

For the select few remaining targets in a class, the Tigers want one of the final shots. Save your bullet as long as possible, so to speak, and try to make your move then.

Furthermore, Clemson is in the midst of three straight weekends without a home game and just had a Friday night game that precluded coaches from traveling to make school recruiting stops.

The table is set for a busy stretch, starting with the Oct. 30 Florida State game, moving to the big official visit weekend Nov. 13 against UConn, and capping with visitors for the final home game Nov. 20 against Wake Forest.

We're not ready to classify that as a storm. But there's a calm before the close to this recruiting quarter that shouldn't be misconstrued as representing the state of affairs.