Dabo Swinney winning in the Transfer Portal has fans double-taking

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has had some major success in picking his spots in the Transfer Portal this cycle.

Just a year ago, Dabo Swinney made headlines by being the only Power-4 head coach to not take a single player out of the Transfer Portal. Swinney has repeatedly said that he is not against the Transfer Portal, but that he felt good about his roster and where they were heading into the 2024 season.

While Clemson did find a way to win the ACC Championship and make it to the College Football Playoff, there was still plenty of meat left on the bone for the Tigers. This offseason, Dabo Swinney seems to be making moves happen.

First, he retained essentially his entire roster. All the big names — including guys like Cade Klubnik, Bryant Wesco, T.J. Moore, Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, Antonio Williams, four starters on the offensive line and more — are returning. Second, Swinney fired Defensive Coordinator Wes Goodwin and reports indicate that he is looking for a "splash" hire to come in and take over a defense that certainly has talent, but played nowhere near its potential in 2024.

But, perhaps the destination that Swinney is making the biggest splash is his selective use of the Transfer Portal.

Clemson isn't going "all in" on taking a bunch of portal commitments, but the three that they've brought in — when you combine them with the amount of players already returning — could all be big contributors for them and fill holes that were badly needed on the roster.

Clemson's first transfer portal commit was 6-foot-5 wide receiver Tristan Smith. Coming from Southeast Missouri State, Smith is a big-bodied receiver who is unlike anything else Clemson's receiver room already possesses. Smith will join Wesco, Moore, Williams, and Tyler Brown, as well as a few others, and he has plenty of potential to be a solid contributor at the position.

The best transfer portal pickup for the Tigers this offseason came in the form of EDGE Will Heldt. Heldt, who was ranked the No. 1 EDGE in the portal, transferred from Purdue to Clemson and he's expected to start at the defensive end position opposite-side of T.J. Parker. Texas A&M was also heavily involved in recruiting Heldt.

If you watch Clemson play in 2024, you can tell that the defensive end position opposite of Parker was a liability. That was compounded against Texas, when the Longhorns ran all over the Clemson defense all night long on their way to a 38-24 victory.

Clemson needed to add some physicality to its defensive line, and Heldt is a guy who can set that hard edge and give the Tigers what they lacked in 2024.

Then, we get to Swinney's latest acquisition.

Even without a Defensive Coordinator or Linebackers Coach hired, Swinney and the Tigers nabbed former 5-star Jeremiah Alexander from Alabama over Auburn, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma. Alexander isn't a guy who's likely to come in and start for Clemson, but he can be a major piece of the puzzle for the linebacker room as a guy who isn't afraid to be physical and can give some much-needed depth behind Sammy Brown and Wade Woodaz.

Clemson may not bring in a Transfer Portal class with massive numbers, but Swinney is most definitely upgrading his roster this offseason and that could prove to be the difference for the Tigers as they look to make a run in 2025.

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