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Swinney didn’t need transfers to build Clemson into a national powerhouse. But the times have changed and his old-school approach has not. (John Byrum/Getty Images)
There are 134 programs playing FBS college football. Just four of them did not add a single transfer to its roster this offseason.
Army, Navy, Air Force and … Clemson.
Maybe you can spot the outlier.
Transfers have long been part of college football roster building but they took on a pronounced role over the last few years as the NCAA began allowing players to move between programs without having to sit out a season.
Coaches use transfers to fill holes in rosters, add depth and experience, bring in pops of talent and so on. It’s not quite as important as high school recruiting (unless you’re Colorado), but it’s close. Adding 20 players — about the size of a high school recruiting class — is now common.
Even major programs use it strategically to get specific players. Michigan added nine players last offseason to bolster its eventual national title team. Runner-up Washington brought in eight, not to mention quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in 2022.
And yet Clemson, a program that from 2015-2019 went 69-5 and won two national championships, continues to sit it out in the transfer portal era. Not one guy this year after adding just one in 2023 and 2022 and zero in 2021.
Maybe not coincidentally, the Tigers have gone 30-10 the last three seasons, including 9-4 (4-4 in the ACC) in 2023. It was their worst season since 2010.
“Well, it wasn’t really necessarily like an intentional thing,” Coach Dabo Swinney told the ACC Network last week about getting no transfers.
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Swinney said Clemson looked at some potential transfers but either couldn’t find a fit or couldn’t win the player over. That’s likely true….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/is-dabo-swinneys-transfer-stance-crippling-clemson-190223774.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-05-20 19:02:23
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