Clemson football: Reports about SEC contact are not true

While the ACC has remained quiet, there are rumors swirling pertaining to the Clemson football program and what the future might hold for the Tigers.

A little more than a week and a half ago, there was a report from Barstool Sports’ Jack McGuire that said the SEC has had ‘serious contacts’ with Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State and Michigan.

Though the ACC Grant of Rights agreement is in place for 15 more years, there was plenty of speculation surrounding if the Tigers and Seminoles might make a jump to the SEC and that’s not completely out of the question by any means.

However, a report surfaced Monday afternoon, from ESPN Upstate host Marc Ryan tweeted that ‘a reliable source’ had told him that Clemson and Florida State had reached out to the SEC about joining the conference, but the SEC was concerned about streaming numbers from the Tigers and Seminoles.

At this point, Ryan said, Notre Dame is the “only free agent left that would add to the pot.”

The only problem with that Tweet? Several other analysts who are much more connected with Clemson were quick to refute the validity of his report.

ACC Network analyst and former Clemson football player Eric Mac Lain said the Tweet was not true.

WCCP Director of Operations Ben Milstead, which is the flagship for Clemson athletics, said that Ryan was not a reliable source.

Clemson football would add much value to the SEC and anyone who can’t see that aren’t looking very hard

We’re not here to refute journalistic credibility or to say who is right or wrong, but we will say that Mac Lain and Milstead both have proven contacts within Clemson and for them to come out so strongly against Ryan should say something.

That being said, the most absurd part of this report isn’t that Clemson and Florida State may have contacted the SEC, it’s the fact that he’d say the SEC is concerned about streaming numbers.

The SEC has brands like South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Kentucky. Those are all much smaller than Clemson and Florida State.

The Greenville market was the fifth-highest market in the nation for ESPN during 2020 and continuously ranks at the top each and every year. That’s all because of Clemson football. The brands of Clemson and Florida State speak for themselves and even though SEC fans don’t want to admit it, their conference would be better off with the Tigers and Seminoles in it.

That being said, until a more reliable source comes along, we’re not going to read too much into these reports, most of which simply don’t make sense and leave more questions than answers.