Outside of the military academies, Clemson was the only program in the country not to take a single transfer. While many have criticized coach Dabo Swinney’s approach to the portal, the Tigers’ head man defended his program’s lack of activity in the transfer market during an interview Wednesday with Siriux XM.
.”I mean, it’s really pretty simple,” he said. “Most of the guys in the portal aren’t good enough to play for us. That’s just the reality of it.”
“It wasn’t really necessarily an intentional thing,” Swinney said. “There (are) a couple (of) guys we looked at, but they’ve got to love you too.”
The Tigers reportedly did reach out to multiple players in the transfer portal but were ultimately unable to find a fit. Twelve players transferred from the program, including starters Beaux Collins (receiver) and Andrew Mukuba (defensive back). Conversely, 18 different FBS teams took at least 20 transfers during the 2024 offseason.
“Honestly, every player is technically a transfer,” Swinney said Tuesday during an interview with the ACC Network. “We just signed a whole class of guys who will transfer in from high school. We like our guys, we like our starters.”
Swinney also doubled down on the approach by pointing to Clemson’s success off the field, including graduation rate and NFL development. Only four power conference schools boasted better roster retention than Clemson.
“Dabo Swinney bets on loyalty as a two-way street,” 247Sports national recruiting analyst Anna Adams said. “Clemson isn’t immune from departures due to outside infleunces or tampering, but the loyalty the program shows its players typically aids the program in retaining its stars.
“While culture plays a significant role, Clemson can’t get by on that…
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