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The Clemson Tigers have made five consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff, winning national titles in 2016 and 2018, and coach Dabo Swinney took a big step Wednesday toward ensuring more success.

Clemson signed six five-star recruits — the most in the nation — as the early signing period opened, and the Tigers had the country’s top-rated class in the 247Sports composite as of late afternoon.

“Super excited about what happened today. We got better,” Swinney said at a press conference. “It’s pretty exciting when you’ve got guys from all over the country choosing to go to Clemson. Pretty cool to see how our brand has grown.”

Top-rated class begins with top-rated prospect

Welcome to the #ClemsonFamily, Bryan Bresee!
#ALLIN #We2Deep20 pic.twitter.com/GG0GqDBBYl

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) December 18, 2019

Clemson announced the signing of 23 players, including the No. 1 prospect in the composite rankings — defensive tackle Bryan Bresee from Damascus, Md.

Other five-stars in the Tigers’ class are defensive end Myles Murphy (No. 3 overall), quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (No. 13), running back Demarkcus Bowman (No. 16), defensive tackle Demonte Capehart (No. 24) and cornerback Fred Davis II (No. 26).

The bulk of the nation’s top recruits signed on Wednesday, with the early signing period ending Friday night. Other prospects will wait until the regular signing period, which opens Feb. 5.

Getting a head start

Swinney said he expected 16 of his signees to enroll early for the spring semester

“Maybe this might be our first-ever No. 1 class. That’s not a goal of mine,” Swinney said. “I don’t lose any sleep over that. When we sign a guy, we think he’s a 5-star. … It just so happens that the best players in the country this year are great fits for Clemson, and we were great fits for them.”

Swinney is also getting his third-ranked team ready to play against second-ranked Ohio State in a College Football Playoff semifinal in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 28,

Alabama was sitting with the No.2-rated recruiting class as of Wednesday afternoon, followed by Ohio State, LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, Auburn, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. Alabama has signed letters or commitments from three five-stars, the second-most behind Clemson.

Ohio State scored the No. 2 recruit — wide receiver Julian Fleming from Catawissa, Pa. — and the seventh-ranked prospect in offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. from Cincinnati.

–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)