Dabo Swinney has humorous response to Clemson football using transfer portal

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Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney seems to acknowledge that his program will need some help from the transfer portal after the 2025 season.

At his weekly Tuesday press conference, Swinney had a humorous response about what roster needs Clemson will have to fill after the season ends — and how he plans to market them.

Swinney said:

"When we decide what we need, I'm going to let y'all advertise it for me. I'm going to let y'all tweet it out, because I don't have social media. So, I'm going to have to count on y'all to tweet it out for me. 'Uh, Coach Swinney says they need a… boom. Call 1-800-DABO.com or whatever.' We'll need somebody, so I'll let y'all advertise that for me when we get to that point."

Earlier in his press conference, Swinney said:

"When we know what our needs are, it's not like it's some big secret. I'll let everybody know. I'll let y'all advertise that for me: 'Hey man, I need a safety. I need a whatever.' I'll make sure y'all put that out there so people will know. We're going to know what we need because we know what we're feeling high school-wise and then who's leaving your roster, or whatever your retention situation is, who goes pro and all that. So, now you know in January, 'OK, well, this is our gap.'"

Dabo Swinney explains why Clemson football will have to use transfer portal

What puts Clemson in the transfer portal? Swinney explained:

"What puts us in the portal is not getting the best high school kid that we want, or a kid decommits late and you can't replace him. Happened last year, so we went and got (Purdue defensive lineman) Will Heldt because we had a gap. Or you have a freshman kid that you have to overpay, because I'm not going to overpay for a freshman. I'd rather go get a guy — I'll pay more for a guy than that I know what we've got as opposed to a freshman."

Swinney added that Clemson would be competitive with NIL pay, but he added:

"We're going to pay these guys well, but there's a threshold where you put yourself in trouble because they're still freshman and they've never had a peer. They've never lived away from home. They've never had money. So I think there's still a level there where you've got to be smart freshman, so that puts you in the portal. Or you have guys leave on your roster that you didn't want to leave. That puts you in the portal. You have to fill the gap, or maybe you signed a guy that hadn't panned out like you want or he got hurt or whatever. Those are the scenarios. Those scenarios haven't changed, so that's all the same. But the timing is different, which I don't think is ideal, but it's better. It's much better than where it was."

Does Dabo Swinney have a number in mind for Clemson football's transfer portal needs?

Swinney was asked if he had an idea of the size of transfer portal needs Clemson will have to fill after the season.

"We've got a few spots… I mean, I don't have a number. We know we've got a couple of spots that we've got to fill, and we've known that. But as far as what that is, we've led the nation in retention the last three years in the craziest time in the history of football. So, I would imagine we'll still be right there near the top of the country in retention. We'll have some guys go pro. We'll probably have some guys move on, but some guys maybe just want to go play that maybe haven't had as much opportunity to play. That's just all part of it.

"We're here to help them. We've got great relationships. These kids, like I said, they love Clemson. You might have some guys that graduate that may want to go and play. We had a couple of those guys last year that have had a chance to go and play at some smaller schools and have some opportunity. That's a great thing. Nothing wrong with that.

"Most of the kids that leave here are graduates, the great majority of them. They want to get a degree here and then they might move on at some time or another. But yeah, we've got to just see how it all shakes out. There's no number. We know right now, if everything stays the same, we know we need a couple of spots, but we'll see how it all plays out."

Dabo Swinney says Clemson will be 'just fine' in spite of transfer portal tampering

Swinney has previously said on record that he knew people had approached Clemson players after games to recruit them to other teams' rosters. He has refused to name names, but when asked if the Tigers were at a disadvantage over tampering in college football, Swinney said:

"I have no idea. Ain't worried about it. I don't care. I mean, we're going to do what's right. I don't really care what other people do. Clemson's going to be just fine. We're going to do what's right. Always have. There's been deals cut for a hundred years, (but) we've always won and we'll continue to win. We'll get the guys we're supposed to get."

Watch Dabo Swinney's full Tuesday press conference.

Clemson football vs Furman: TV channel for Week 13 game

Clemson (5-5) will face the Furman Paladins from the Southern Conference (SoCan) at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on The CW Network.

The Tigers are coming off a 20-19 win over the Louisville Cardinals last Friday. Furman (6-5) defeated VMI, 32-14, on Saturday.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson football using transfer portal prompts Dabo Swinney response

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