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Clemson fans irate with Dabo Swinney after another 4-star commit mulls flip

It is being rumored that 4-star safety Tae Harris is leaning toward flipping from Clemson to Georgia Tech and that has Clemson fans angry at Dabo Swinney.

ByMatthew Conner|
Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney reacts during the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney reacts during the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

The 2025 recruiting cycle is coming down to its final moments with the early signing window set to open in about a month. And the last portion of that cycle has not been very kind to Clemson.

Since August, five top-100 players in the nation have decommitted from Clemson and now, it is being rumored that 4-star safety Tae Harris from Georgia is going to change his pledge from the Tigers to Georgia Tech.

In fact, Harris himself shared a post on X in which his potential flip to the Yellowjackets is mentioned. He even tagged that re-post with #Taetotech.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Harris is the No. 48 overall player and No. 3 safety in the nation. He's currently the third-highest-ranked player in Clemson's recruiting haul and the top defensive back pledged to the Tigers.

Therefore, his impending flip has Clemson fans rather angry with the direction the Clemson recruiting class is going. And when Clemson fans are upset, they vent their frustrations at one person, head coach Dabo Swinney who has been reluctant to fully embrace the N.I.L. and transfer portal revolutions that have reshaped the college football landscapes.

UPDATE: 11:00 AM - The flip has been made official. Reported by On3 Sports Hayes Fawcett, Harris has flipped his commitment to the Yellow Jackets.

Currently, the Clemson recruiting class sits at No. 17 in the nation and second in the ACC behind Miami. While many schools would kill for such a haul, Clemson fans have had to watch that ranking slip in recent weeks and months after all of the high-profile decommitments.

Swinney has certainly been criticized for his insistence on handling recruiting the way he always has as a head coach. He's openly spoken out against N.I.L. payments to players and in October, one of his former players, cornerback Nate Wiggins, said that Swinney "hates" N.I.L. payments and "doesn't do" the transfer portal.

Now, that stubborn approach to talent acquisition may be catching up to him and Clemson fans are taking notice. If the Tigers do indeed lose Harris to Georgia Tech, it will be yet another blow to Swinney's way of operating but one must wonder if it will be enough to make him change his ways.

Clemson fans are growing tired of seeing this recruiting class shrink (it is down to just 17 players at the moment) and potentially losing a top-50 player to a program such as Georgia Tech would only further their exasperation. Many are begging Swinney to step into the modern era of talent acquisition but for now, that doesn't appear to be the direction he wants to go. So the angst toward one of the most successful college football coaches of this generation is likely to continue to grow.

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