Just last year, Dabo Swinney told the media that he didn't see any reason for Clemson football to dip into the transfer portal because he felt like the guys on his roster were good enough.
That statement seemed to anger fans (for good reason) who had seen the Tigers take a step back in recent years after the previous dominance pre-COVID-19. He wasn't adjusting to the times and even though he disagreed with the portal, it was something that made teams like Ohio State, Georgia, and Alabama exponentially better.
Clemson fans just wanted the program to get back to even with the big dogs of college football and Swinney's stubbornness was preventing that.
This offseason, however, Swinney gave in. He felt like it was time to flirt with the portal and he picked up a few guys who should have an immediate impact, including Saturday's spring game star Tristan Smith who wowed the crowd with five catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Did that performance change Swinney's mind about the portal? It doesn't sound like it.
Dabo Swinney says he doesn’t see any needs in the spring portal at this point.
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) April 5, 2025
“We don’t need anybody right now. We’re good where we are.”
Adds “we’ll see,” but Clemson has been good in retention.
The "we don't need anybody right now" may be more of a vote of confidence in his current team rather than a knock on the portal players, but he shouldn't speak in absolutes unless he knows for sure that he's losing no one. He did say "we'll see" in terms of the teams retention efforts so it sounds like he may be aware of a few guys who could be eyeing the portal which could open some spots up.
Either way, this answer by Swinney is the least shocking reply ever to a question about the transfer portal, but you'd think Smith's performance on Saturday would've eased his transfer disapproval.