Even in a moment when some rosters fill the transfer portal with 40 players in one pass, Clemson remains a statistical oddball. Dabo Swinney said, loudly, that no matter where the current landscape is, the Tigers are probably "number one or top in the country in retention."
This stability forms the basis of his 2026 initiative, as the 10 incoming transfers are considered "additions," not "replacements."
“The biggest thing is we got our team… our team is here now,” Swinney said.
That continuity translates into the 57 players with ACC Championship rings and 60 that have participated in a College Football Playoff. With the key 2025 roster still in place, Swinney also has avoided the “rebuild” struggle so many of his peers experience every spring.
This success, Swinney said, owed to the “January to June” process of nurturing leadership. He said that players stay at Clemson because they are “committed to the standard” and the growth is taking place internally.
“You don’t just snap your fingers and have that leadership,” Swinney added. For the Tigers, the 2026 season is not about finding a new identity, but about improving the one that nearly two-thirds of the roster has already bought into.