2019 ACC FOOTBALL RECRUITING BREAKDOWN: CLEMSON

It's been a bit longer than I anticipated, but it's finally time for Round 2 of my ACC Football Recruiting Breakdown for 2019.
Next up is Clemson.
____________________________
2019 Class:
ACC Rank: 1
Top Recruit: Andrew Booth, CB, Lawrenceville GA
Biggest Need: A Bigger Trophy Case...
The scary part is, I'm not trying to be funny with the need for Clemson being more room for trophies. It took Dabo 4 or 5 years to build it, but he has an absolute machine running in the middle of absolute nowhere in South Carolina. Clemson has been able to bring in the right players at the right position for really the last 5 recruiting classes. That's not to say they're all 5 star guys. That's not the case. It just always seems like Clemson has veteran players at every position and young, electric talent coming right up behind them. If there is a roster weakness the Tigers need to address, it will have to deal more with injuries than lack of depth.

Most Exciting Recruit: Frank Ladson, WR, Miami FL
Clemson grabbed this one right out of The U's backyard. At 6'3" with a 10" hand measurement, Ladson looks like some of the elite, big bodied Clemson receivers of the past like DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins. Having Trevor Lawrence at QB has a way of making every WR recruit look like a potential All-ACC guy, but with Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross being on the roster for a few more years Ladson could find himself covered by the second, even third choice CB in certain formations.

Early Contributor(s): Tyler Davis, DT, Apopka FL
Even for Clemson, the amount of attrition on the DL is going to be a major obstacle to overcome. Davis (6'1", 293lbs.) relies more on his athleticism than size and strength in the interior, which fits the Clemson mold very well. He won't start, but he'll be pushing for playing time and could rack up some good stats against lesser opponents. I'm looking at you WOFFORD and UNC-CHARLOTTE.
Sam's Grade: A-
It's hard to find anything negative to say about how Clemson has attacked recruiting recently. Trust me I tried to find something. The only thing I could say is Clemson missed on some big time recruits. Zacch Pickens (no typo) is a top 10 DT recruit from South Carolina with all the measurables. He chose the Gamecocks. CB Cameron Smith was another top recruit from the Palmetto State who chose South Carolina. In fact, Clemson was unable to land a top 5 recruit in state in 2019. (#3 WR Jacoby Pickney is a Hokie)