Under the leadership of Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, Alabama and Ohio State have generally been seen as the top two recruiting programs in the country. That, in conjunction with strong coaching and direction, has helped the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes achieve great success but, according to Mike Nowoswiat and James Moss of Pick Six Previews, neither program sits at No. 1 in a ranking of programs that recruits want to play for right now.
The duo polled a selection of 224 prospects to "to grade their interest and desire in each program as if they were the number one recruit in the country" and, in the end, the Clemson Tigers landed in the top spot. That is a huge credit to Dabo Swinney, who has been killing it on the recruiting trail for some time, and the Tigers also have a (very) recent national championship to entice prospects to come to the ACC.
In addition to Clemson in the top spot, both Penn State and Georgia land in the top five and, if anything, that might even feel low for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs given their dominance in the 2018 class. Still, the headliner here is the presence of Clemson at the top and, given the talent that is flocking to that particular school, it probably shouldn't be an outright surprise.
Clemson made their third consecutive College Football Playoff appearance in the 2017-18 season, only to lose this time to Alabama in the semifinal. The Tigers won the national title the year by defeating Nick Saban and Alabama, marking Clemson's first national title in 35 years.
