For a long time, Dabo Swinney wouldn't even give the transfer portal a glance.
The long-time Clemson football coach was staunchly opposed to utilizing the portal because he saw what it did to the rest of the nation and he would say things like the guys on his roster were better than anyone he could get to transfer in.
It was obvious that his stubbornness was getting in the way of potentially increased success due to adequate portal usage. He was ignoring elite veteran players because "my guys are better".
Imagine just how good Clemson would have been since 2020 if Dabo had just hit the portal to address some key needs on both sides of the ball.
But I digress.
Swinney's mind may be slowly changing because of his incoming transfer class of three (now four after adding a walk-on lineman from North Carolina). He has three guys who will compete for playing time right away, led by "robot" Will Heldt and spring breakout star Tristan Smith.
Jeremiah Alexander may just be Dabo's favorite of all, though. We know how much Dabo appreciates hard workers, well, Alexander may be the hardest working of all his players.
Dabo gushed about his work ethic to the media on Thursday.
Dabo Swinney on Alabama transfer Jeremiah Alexander's work ethic: "If everyone worked like Jeremiah Alexander, this would be the easiest job in America."
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) July 31, 2025
Swinney holds up his hand, "Here’s what’s expected," and then stretches for the sky, "He’s up here."
Hearing Dabo rave about a player's work ethic like this is usually pretty telling. It usually means that we're going to see a lot of that player.
So expect to see plenty of Alexander in 2025.
Alexander is bringing some valuable experience to an already-solid linebacker room led by Wade Woodaz and Sammy Brown. He's going to be a key contributor in the linebacker rotation and it's clear that he's already a leader on the defensive side of the ball.
The Alabama transfer may be single-handedly changing Dabo's portal mindset.