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1. If it works, stick with the recipe.
Clemson held its second of three junior days Saturday, arranged in conjunction with its first spring practice in pads on the weekend.
That has been standard operating procedure for a while.
Yet for most years of the Dabo Swinney era, the March junior day has more resembled an open house.
Select targets were still brought in, specifically those who couldn't make the January elite junior day. But doors were open to a wider range of prospects, both in quality and age. And the practice itself took center stage.
In a strategic tweak, this time Clemson put on a slightly modified version of the elite junior day.
Prospects arrived before 9 a.m., watched the workout and attended position meetings. Did the requisite photo shoot.
The event then crescendoed at the team meeting room, where Swinney gave a rendition of the passionate but lengthy state-of-the-program address that we have traditionally written about ... because prospects and their families talk about it so endearingly.
Which translated to the function wrapping up shortly after 7 p.m., with several hanging around until nearly 8 p.m.
This will invariably prompt someone to ask or comment that the Tigers have yet to yield favorable returns from the first junior day. They sit on one commitment for the next class, collected early last fall from Miami (Fla.) Edison four-star receiver Nathaniel Joseph.
Fair enough.
Two thoughts:
On Saturday, Florida State notched a commitment from New Bern (N.C.) defensive tackle Keith "K.J." Sampson -- one of Clemson's targets, and who was slated to return to campus next weekend.
Sampson released an updated top-five last week, only then sliding FSU in to replace UGA. He has been to South Carolina numerous times while having family and connections at N.C. State. It marked his first trip to Tallahassee.
All of which is to say, the commitment represented an abrupt turn that his other suitors did not foresee, Clemson included.
A decision made amid the emotion of a visit? An NIL deal leveraged by the moment? That we don't know.
But those are the types of commitments for which you question the strength, and only time will tell if it sticks.
Those aren't what the Tigers are after.
To the other point ...
Many of you have been calling for Clemson to recruit a larger pool of candidates.
In our eyes, that was the statement made in the second junior day.
Ten new offers have been cited, including multiples at two positions (defensive end and cornerback).
We aren't talking comparative to the hundreds of business cards their peers are passing out.
But the Tigers are casting a wider net, relative to what they did a year ago for example.
Which makes for a convenient segue.
2. The place where that was most evident: defensive end, where the Tigers extended four offers.
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