The Clemson Tigers are defending national champions, the No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff and statistically one of the most successful college football programs of the last five years. On Wednesday, Dabo Swinney and his staff secured a big part of sustained success with yet another star-studded signing class, and this one might be one their best ever. 

With the National Signing Day commitments of five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman and five-star defensive end K.J. Henry, the Tigers have four of the top-10 players, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. The day started early with announcements that were less stressful but no less important as five-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and five-star defensive end Xavier Thomas both followed through on verbal commitments that have been standing for most of 2017.

Perhaps the biggest "win" of the day for Clemson was landing Carman, who chose the Tigers over Ohio State and Southern California. Predictions about Carman's choice wavered throughout his recruitment, but on Wednesday, it was a Christmas wish come true for co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott. 

"This is going to be our fourth senior class in a row that's leaving as the winningest class in school history. Fourth in a row, this group having won 50 games. The key word there is they're leaving. So anytime you have great, successful people leaving your program, it's the lifeline of your program to bring quality people in the front door. I feel like that's what we did today, and we're really excited about it."

Here are three things to know about Clemson's class: 

1. It's actually one of the smallest hauls among the top programs in the country. With just 15 signees, Clemson's early class is relatively small right now compared to the rest of the top-10 classes with every other top team signing at least 18 in this first-ever early signing period. That's not a problem for Clemson, especially since the entire two-deep and three-deep depth chart has just seven seniors (four offense, three defense) and even with the expected departure of a few third-year players to the NFL there is more than enough depth that has been established during the last three College Football Playoff runs. 

So after Swinney built this modern Clemson dynasty with great player evaluation and player development, he now gets to be a little bit more picky with his recruiting efforts. The Tigers have already shown the ability to reload after a big NFL Draft exodus, and now they're going to be reloading with even more raw talent than ever before. 

2. The day did not pass without some controversy. As Clemson's program has grown in national prominence, so has Swinney's ability to go outside of the program's normal footprint and recruit top talent. Carman is from Cincinnati, so pulling him away from Ohio State became one of the day's most intriguing stories. That story, according to Ari Wasserman of The Athletic, includes part of the argument Swinney used to persuade Carman not to choose the in-state Buckeyes. 

Dan Wolken of USA Today reported that Swinney "did not deny it" when asked about the comment but couldn't recall the exact conversation, noting that prospects are always wondering about coaches in different stages of their careers. 

3. Swinney, for the record, is in favor the Early Signing Period. Several coaches have voiced a strong opposition to the new period, citing concerns that range from a crunched schedule in December to prospects burning official visits during their junior year of high school. "I love it, you can put me on record for that," Swinney said, via 247Sports' Anna Hickey. 

In recent years, Swinney has locked up several of his key prospects in advance of National Signing Day and many have chosen to be early enrollees. So it's not surprising to see a coach whose staff is used to locking down commitments in the winter not only be in favor of the new schedule, but see one its most successful signing days ever.