Things get slow around this time of year with Clemson football. The spring game is over, and Dabo’s Camps will be starting up in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the media and fans continue to lambast Clemson for not using the portal or offering millions in NIL money. One would think that they would understand that Dabo isn’t listening to them.
I’ve asked this question to a lot of those “fans” who claim “Clemson is going to get left behind” if they don’t do this or don’t do that. People are going to find out that Dabo does it his way, and when all this NIL dust settles down and they begin to regulate the massive booster spending to buy recruits, Dabo will still be standing.
So, who in the transfer portal were the Tigers supposed to buy, uh, recruit? Dabo has said many times he offered a couple of offensive linemen but they went elsewhere. Clemson has two 5-star quarterbacks, five total on the roster, and bringing in another 4-star quarterback in 2023. Clemson has three very good running backs returning, with a 4-star legacy running back coming in the fall. The Tigers bring back minimum 8 WRs plus two 4-star WRs. No room there. No room at TE. The defensive front is 4 deep, and the linebackers are all experienced and taking their turn. Secondary? Clemson brought in 3 4-star secondary players in 2022 and brings back several with starting experience. No one can tell me WHO in the portal would want to come to Clemson and sit behind entrenched starters.
In 2021 and 2022, a total of 1,537 undergrads and 786 graduate transfers entered the transfer portal, a total of 2,323. Of those, 54% landed at a new school, 41% are still waiting. 5% withdrew their names, probably deciding to stay at their current school. How many of those did Clemson get? One, QB Hunter Johnson, a graduate transfer.
NIL was not supposed to be about buying recruits but the NCAA screwed up, and has let the boosters run amuck, basically paying millions to players to get them to their school of choice. College football is not the NFL and between the “free agency transfer portal” and the NIL MIllion Dollar Sweepstakes, the sport we love has gone off the rails, at least temporarily.
