Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program do things a bit differently than others in the NIL/transfer portal era.
While many other teams take advantage of the portal, building nearly their entire starting lineups through it (Florida State, for example), the Tigers have stuck to recruiting and rarely ever dip into the portal. It is the way Swinney builds his team, and it has worked.
247Sports recently released an article discussing the top teams in college football based on team talent, with Clemson ranking No.5. Clemson may do things by the book, but it hasn’t stopped their success.
Transfers are all the rage in this era of college football, but No. 5 Clemson continues to stock its roster exclusively through the high school ranks. The Tigers remain very relevant in doing so, sitting in the top five of the Team Talent Composite for the fourth straight season.
The impressive piece of this for the Tigers is how they rarely finish with a top 5 recruiting class. Swinney and his staff are excellent at identifying talent and bringing them on to the program.
In 2023, we will see recruiting vs. the transfer portal in full effect as the Tigers and Seminoles battle for the ACC.