Clemson football: Tigers culture is more important now than ever

The Clemson football culture will be at the front and center more so than ever before.

Under head coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson football has believed in the total development of a player – on the football as a player, in the classroom as a student, and in the community as a leader. That belief has allowed the Tigers to recruit, retain and graduate nearly every player that has put on a uniform under Swinney.

While the Tigers saw an influx of players leave during and after the 2020 college football season, that was an abnormality under Swinney and the majority of them left because they were buried on the depth chart and wanted to find more playing time elsewhere.

With the changing of the college football transfer rule, will the culture that has been created, developed, and carried over from class to class be able to withstand players leaving now that they will be eligible immediately without having to sit out a year?

Clemson football won’t have to worry about roster management

The basis of Clemson football from the player development side is competition – the best will play regardless of age or class and if you work, you will see the field.

The last part always frustrates fans but what sets Swinney and Clemson apart from most programs is that they don’t just throw backups on the field during a blowout win in the fourth quarter. Instead, for those that have earned it, they throw guys on the field early on as part of their development process.

Swinney is also brutally honest with every recruit – something else most college football coaches are not. The Clemson football coaching staff never promises playing time, they promise an opportunity to compete but they don’t guarantee playing time – that has to be earned.

Elite recruits want to play, not sit, but those coming to Clemson understand that has to be earned.

With the new rule being that players can transfer one time and not have to sit out, coaches are worried that this will have an adverse effect on their roster in future years, after years of development.

Texas State head coach Jake Spavital told Dennis Dobbs at CBS, that this is what worries him the most –

"“My whole argument is I can take the [high school] kid down the street that no one wants and no one offers who, after three years, you develop him into a good player, and he can leave,” Spavital said. “Or you can [go to the portal].”"

When you’re a program that has won the major conference title six straight times, are the only team in college football to make the College Football Playoff six straight times, and have played for four of the last six national titles, you attract the elite that wants to compete and win.

The Clemson football culture is what will keep and retain them. Other programs don’t have this luxury.