By Mark Pszonak
There are plenty of thick-headed people in this world, but it becomes more obvious and awkward when that person has a salary of 11M in 2024. Dabo Swinney’s thick-headedness with the transfer portal has created a mess for himself, but more importantly for the entire Clemson program.
This is a story that has gradually become a hot topic over the last two years however after Clemson’s 34-3 loss to Georgia on Saturday, it exploded. There is no shame in losing to Georgia, but it is the way that the Tigers went down with no fight that is a huge cause for concern.
The offense only totaled 189 yards, with a meager 47 of those coming on the ground. Those 47 yards came on 22 carries, which makes it an even more pathetic 2.1 yards per carry. Georgia’s defense is once again dominant, but this is Clemson. They should be better. The defense showed some fight for a portion of the game, but because of the offensive woes the unit gradually wore down and gave up 447 yard.
And as Clemson was getting hammered in the second half, social media started blowing up with comments and reminders of Swinney’s avoidance of the portal. This interview below was quickly recycled and will continue to be:
Let’s throw it back to this interview
Most of the guys in the portal aren’t good enough to play for us”
-Clemson HC Dabo Swinney— 704 Dawg (@FSFRecruits) August 31, 2024
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“Most of the guys in the portal aren’t good enough to play for us,” is the first comment and the most damning. Coming off a 9-4 season, which included a 4-4 finish in the ACC, Swinney was in no position to say this in 2024. Georgia, which just throttled Clemson and has become the elite program in the country, managed to find players in the portal who were good enough for them, but not for Clemson? In fact, both of Georgia’s receiving touchdowns were scored by new transfers, London Humphreys and Colbie Young.
If you look back at the 2023 season, transfers at Florida State and Miami played big roles in helping the Seminoles and Canes beat Clemson:
Florida State: WR Johnny Wilson (5 rec, 94 yds), WR Keon Coleman (5 rec, 86 yds, 2 TD), RB Trey Benson (75 total yds), DL Braden Fiske (6 tackles, .5 TFL), LB Tatum Bethune (7 tackles)
Miami-FL: RB Ajay Allen (54 yds, 1 TD), LB Francisco Mauigoa (6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack), LB K.J. Cloyd (6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PD)
I personally mentioned that Clemson would regret not using the transfer portal during an August 9th Portal Fact or Fiction. No matter what Clemson is saying publicly, it is hard to believe that everyone in the program is on the same page as Swinney when it comes to their lack of portal usage.
So where does this leave Clemson today? They’ll likely still win 8 or 9 games this season, which would make most programs in the country very happy but shouldn’t be the ceiling in Death Valley. For a fanbase that has gotten accustomed to better things, this will be a very tough pill to swallow.
And the most difficult part for the fans is that there is no guarantee that anything will change as long as Swinney is in charge.
