Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Dabo Swinney addresses Clemson not utilizing transfer portal

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 5/17/24

Dabo Swinney has stood out in the new era of college football for his refusal to utilize the transfer portal.

Swinney believes in home-growing his players rather than paying top dollar for what are effectively free agents. While other schools pluck players out of the transfer portal, Swinney sticks to what he did throughout the 2010s when he built Clemson into a power: recruiting players out of high school.

During an appearance on College Sports Radio on SiriusXM on Thursday, Swinney said that the quality of players in the transfer portal just wasn’t up to snuff for his Tigers.

Clemson’s Dabo Swinney on @SXMCollege about quality of players in Transfer Portal. “I mean, it’s really pretty simple,” Swinney said. “Most of the guys in the portal aren’t good enough to play for us. That’s just the reality of it”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 16, 2024

“I mean, it’s really pretty simple,” Swinney said. “Most of the guys in the portal aren’t good enough to play for us. That’s just the reality of it.”

He’s probably correct. However, while most of the players may not be Clemson-quality, there are still some players who could help his team. Swinney just doesn’t believe in building his program by using 1-year rentals.

Swinney isn’t walking away from Clemson, but he’s not exactly embracing the new era of the sport. That may turn out to be to the detriment of his team’s records moving forward.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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