Clemson Hosts Big Ten Transfer, Signaling Potential Shift for Dabo Swinney

The Tigers did not bring in a single transfer last season.

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney during the second quarter against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the 2024 ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

No college football coach has come out stronger against using the transfer portal than Clemson's Dabo Swinney, who has famously shied away from adding veteran players to supplement his roster. Detractors believe it can help explain the downslide that Clemson has experienced since the portal began in 2018.

While it is unlikely that Swinney will take any pages from Deion Sanders's book and begin to portal in full recruiting classes, it does appear that he is becoming more open to adding quality players. The Tigers are set to host Purdue pass rusher Will Heldt, a sophomore coming off of a productive season (56 tackles, five sacks) for the 1–11 Boilermakers.

The biggest splashes that Swinney has made in the transfer portal era came with the additions of backup quarterbacks Hunter Johnson and Paul Tyson. If Heldt commits, he'd be the first scholarship defensive player ever brought in by Clemson via the portal, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Clemson is set to host Purdue transfer edge rusher Will Heldt on a visit in the upcoming days, his agents @gcsportsmgmt tell ESPN. Clemson has not ever taken a scholarship defensive player from the NCAA transfer portal. Heldt has two years remaining. pic.twitter.com/MjHTSsaKcq

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 12, 2024

Taking a look at one defensive player is far from a complete overhaul of Swinney's transfer philosophy, but it should be a welcome development for the Clemson fans that have worried about the team growing stale and failing to adapt to the modern game.

Swinney led Clemson to a pair of national titles in 2016 and '18, but have lost at least three games in each of the last four years. The Tigers will play in this year's expanded College Football Playoff as the 12-seed after knocking off SMU in the ACC championship game, facing No. 5 seed Texas on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 4 p.m. ET.

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