Dabo Swinney has publicly stated that most transfer portal signings are simply no better than the players currently on the Tigers’ roster.
This hasn’t stopped the staff from making some select offers in the transfer portal, but Clemson has yet to add traditional portal entry, making the Tigers, along with the military academies, the only FBS teams that have not added portal entry in the offseason.
According to Danny Kanell, sports analyst at CBS, the program is being slowed down by the lack of portal usage.
“What’s happened is Dabo’s stubbornness is holding them back from regaining their dominance in the ACC and possibly even college football,” Kanell said. “He just doesn’t want to even look at the transfer portal. I know he’s said, and he has his excuses, ‘Nobody’s better than our guys,’ and I appreciate that mentality, right? He’s trying to build his team and gain the loyalty of players who are recruited by Clemson and stay at Clemson and finish their careers at Clemson, which I appreciate. That’s an outdated view. What Dabo is essentially trying to do is an NFL team that wins through the draft and refuses to look at free agency. You can’t tell me that a Cade Klubnik would not have benefited from a Keon Coleman last year, who ended up at Florida State and was really good for them…”
Kanell says that as the season gets longer, additional transfers will be necessary for playoff contenders.
“He’s right that their talent is elite,” Kanell said. “He’s got really good recruiting classes. He’s still stacking those. But I think it’s two things that are bothering them: One, at select positions where maybe you missed out on a 5-star player and he’s not playing up to his potential. Then you have a weakness on your roster. I thought receiver was one of them. They’re hoping Bryant Wesco is the one that steps up, and maybe he does. But it’s also about depth. And as the season stretches out, as you get into the playoffs and have more games, there’s going to be turnover, and all of a sudden you could go from a transfer player who’s a fifth-year graduate with experience to one who might step in if someone gets hurt. Or if they get hurt, you still have a player who’s younger but maybe doesn’t have to play as much.”
There is also more than one way to use the portal.
“I just think there are so many different reasons why Dabo should do it, and the fact that he doesn’t is holding Clemson back from reaching its full potential, because that fan base is as dedicated as any,” Kanell said. “You’d shower NIL with money. You could compete with anybody, and Dabo says, ‘No.’ And he doesn’t have to become like Deion (Sanders) and get 45 transfers a year. But look at Ohio State, they had one of the smaller classes because they recruit really well too, but they bring in Caleb Downs to bolster a shaky secondary, they bring in Quinshon Judkins — they didn’t need him, but man, that backfield looks incredible now… They have a select group that helps them fill holes, and that’s what Clemson isn’t doing, and that’s what’s hurting them.”
Kanell says the Clemson program could face some adversity on the way to a philosophy change.
“I think Dabo looks at the portal the way I did 10 years ago,” Kanell said. “They were seen as not being great teammates, quitters, and that’s how I felt 10 years ago… That’s changed. The attitude of the players doesn’t say anything about the mentality of the players. It says they’re taking advantage of a system to make as much money as possible, and I think that’s what a lot of coaches get mad at. Dabo has drawn that line… I think he’ll change eventually, but I think the process might be a little painful.”
(Note One3)
