College football has changed drastically in recent years, with the transfer portal and NIL opportunities shifting the landscape in ways that many coaches never imagined.
One of the latest concerns? Spring games becoming prime scouting events for other programs looking to poach players. Some schools, like Nebraska, Texas, and N.C. State, have responded by either canceling their spring games altogether or modifying them to limit public access. But Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney isn't buying into the paranoia.
During a recent press conference, Swinney made it clear that Clemson’s spring game will go on as planned, dismissing the idea that shutting it down would do anything to prevent tampering.
“Canceling the spring game ain’t gonna stop tampering,” Swinney said. And he’s absolutely right.
The idea that college football programs need to cancel or modify spring games to avoid tampering is a bit laughable when you consider how recruiting and player movement actually work. As Swinney pointed out, programs already have extensive data on potential transfer targets. “Ain’t nobody gonna go look at the spring game and go, ‘Oh yeah,’” Swinney said. “They’ve got PFF (Pro Football Focus advanced metrics). ... They’ve got everything on everybody already.”
In other words, the people who are involved in tampering aren’t sitting around watching spring game film to identify talent. They already know who they want, thanks to years of recruiting experience, scouting reports, and advanced analytics. If a player is on their radar, it's not because of a flashy highlight from a spring scrimmage.
Swinney also made it clear that spring games are a valuable tool for player development, particularly for younger athletes.
“You don’t get better football if you don’t play football,” he explained. He’s right—without a structured game environment in the spring, it would be harder for new players to adjust to the speed and physicality of college football.
Some programs might feel the need to adapt due to unique circumstances—like Texas, which cited player health concerns after back-to-back seasons with deep postseason runs. But for Clemson, the spring game remains an important step in preparing for the fall.
At the end of the day, tampering isn’t going to stop because a few schools decided to cancel their spring games. The reality is that if a player wants to leave, they’re going to find a way—whether it’s through backchannel conversations with handlers, social media interactions, or the many unofficial avenues that exist in the world of college athletics.
Swinney isn’t worried, though, because Clemson has built a pretty impressive culture based on retention. This past offseason, the Tigers lost zero starters to the portal, and they bring back the most returning production in the country.