It's been several years since the Clemson Tigers have had a roster legitimately capable of winning a national championship, but that's exactly what they possess looking ahead to 2025.
Clemson is coming off a 2024 season that was much more of a rollercoaster than most Tiger fans would've wanted. They lost several key games — including Georgia to start the season and in-state rival South Carolina to end the season — but somehow backdoored their way to the ACC Championship thanks to a monumental meltdown from Miami.
As a result, Clemson beat SMU on a last-second field goal in the ACC Championship game to secure a 34-31 victory and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Though the Tigers lost to Texas in the opening round, they did compete with the Longhorns in Austin and there are real reasons for hope heading into next season.
Here's a look at three things Dabo Swinney must do this offseason to lead Clemson back into the national title picture.
1. Elite roster retention
Clemson has already taken care of our first point. The Tigers lost no legitimate starter to the portal and they'll now return the bulk of their roster for the 2025 season.
Cade Klubnik will return and he'll have a whole host of weapons, including Bryant Wesco, T.J. Moore, Antonio Williams, and a healthy Tyler Brown. In addition, Clemson will return four starters — including offensive tackles Tristan Leigh and Blake Miller who announced their return together — on the offensive line.
Clemson has maintained its roster as good as anyone in the country and will very few seniors moving on from the program, the team is set to stay intact for the next season. Of course, there's still the spring portal window in April when we could see some movement.
2. Hire an experienced defensive coordinator
It's already been reported that Clemson has informed Defensive Coordinator Wes Goodwin that he won't return to his same position in 2025. Goodwin has reportedly been offered to stay on staff in an analyst role, but it's unclear if he'll take that spot or not.
The big question: Who will Dabo Swinney hire in Goodwin's place?
Clemson has more talent on defense than many might realize. Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, Khalil Barnes, Aveion Terrell, Sammy Brown, and Ashton Hampton are all guys that have legitimate NFL aspirations and the right defensive coordinator can activate that talent. Clemson needs a coach who can fix the run defense and there are several candidates available.
Who will it be? Only time will tell.
3. Make the right portal acquisitions
Clemson has already brought in two solid additions, including the portal's top edge-rusher in Will Heldt. The Tigers were in desperate of another defensive end to pair with T.J. Parker and they got just that with Heldt. In addition, they'll add Tristan Smith (6-foot-5) as a big-body wide receiver to their already-deep position room.
So, what does Clemson need the rest of the way? Honestly, the Tigers need to bring in another linebacker who can help solidify the depth of that room and it probably wouldn't hurt to bring in a punter, either.
Clemson is set to host former 5-star LB/Edge Jeremiah Alexander (Alabama) on a visit this week. If they don't get him, they may wait until the spring window to add a guy.
Dabo Swinney is still going to be picky about his portal pickups, but it's clear that he has plans to use it moving forward and seems to have been effective in doing so.