Clemson Football: How could the Tigers be affected by CFB free agency?
The world of College Football is changing. How could Clemson football be affected by the latest trend of CFB free agency and the transfer portal?
The latest transfer of former UGA QB and current Ohio State QB Justin Fields has changed things. Fields transferred from Georgia to Ohio State and earned a waiver to play immediately.
Fields had a legitimate case because of a situation that took place at the University of Georgia, but him getting a waiver- in addition to the amount of transfers we’ve seen this year in particular- has opened up the door for something many have feared for years: College Football Free Agency.
It’s happening sooner rather than later.
CFB Free Agency:
We are entering a time in College Football unlike anything we’ve ever seen before and it’s going to affect everyone.
High School players that are being recruited by big time Division 1 programs have been the stars on their teams for several years, in most cases.
They don’t like coming to a program and then having to wait a couple of years to play. They want to play immediately.
Those players are then being able to hire a lawyer- who knows his way around the NCAA- and get a waiver to go play elsewhere immediately and unless the NCAA changes its rules, this is only going to continue to happen.
So, what will Clemson football have to do to continue to be the prominent program in the country? The correct answer is doing exactly what Dabo Swinney has done: recruit to needs, not wants.
The reason you see so many 5-stars and 4-stars leave programs is because they get to places like Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas, LSU, Florida, etc. and they don’t get to play. That’s because those programs are recruiting to wants, rather than needs.
They see the star-power and don’t stick to their numbers. Instead, they just get as many talented athletes on campus as possible.
Dabo Swinney and Co. have been recruiting to needs where they know a guy can fill a particular role or can give him a clear look at what they expect for his time at Clemson football. Even the Tigers, though, will be affected.
Next. The lone Tiger in the AAF. dark
Just look at the quarterback transfers in the past couple of years- Kelly Bryant, Zerrick Cooper and Hunter Johnson.
No one will be left unaffected. We’re going to see teams switching, trading and stealing players. Unless the rule changes, we’re heading straight down the road for College Football Free Agency after each season.