Dabo Swinney warns of "terrible" consequences for college football in new changes

Dabo Swinney is adjusting to many different shifts in college football, including one that may have a significant impact on his roster beginning next season.

During a recent press conference, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney shared his frustration over the preliminary approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement, which will impose a 105-player cap on FBS football rosters reportedly starting in 2025.

For a program like Clemson, which currently has 136 players, this change is monumental. Swinney didn’t hold back, calling the situation “terrible.”

“Obviously we have to cut a lot of guys this year. It’s terrible,” Swinney said. “It’s the worst thing in my whole coaching career and what’s going on. But we’ve gotta cut a bunch of kids that have been in our program.”

A former walk-on at Alabama, Swinney has long been a champion for walk-ons, emphasizing their role in the team dynamic and the life-changing opportunities they provide. The new roster cap means tough decisions are inevitable, impacting players who would have otherwise still had a role in the program.

Swinney also shared how this will affect many seniors on the roster.

“Some of these kids would be back for their fifth year next year, but they won’t have the opportunity. It’s sad, but that’s the way it is,” he explained. Clemson is trying to soften the blow by allowing fourth-year players to be honored during Senior Day, even if they would have typically returned for an additional season.

Looking ahead, Swinney acknowledged the challenge of navigating these new roster limits. While there will be more scholarship — as the number increases from 85 to 105 — it will limit the number of walk-ons a team can have and the total size of the roster will go down.

“This settlement is a tough pill to swallow, but we’ll keep pushing forward,” Swinney concluded.

Of course, this isn't the only roster management decision that Swinney will have to make this offseason. As most of his team is set to stay intact, it will be interesting to see how Swinney uses the Transfer Portal this winter and what coaching changes might be on the horizon for Clemson, which seems destined to miss the College Football Playoff barring a miracle.

Clemson will close out its 2024 season with home games against The Citadel and then in-state rival South Carolina.

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