Dabo Swinney is leaning into "development," but the numbers tell a scary story.
Roster continuity is hard to come by these days, and for Dabo Swinney and Clemson, it’s about to get even tougher. CBS Sports just dropped its list of returning starters for 2026, and the numbers aren’t pretty.
After a 7-6 season that saw plenty of faces head out the door, Clemson is tied for 59th in the country with only eight returning starters. While other teams are bringing back experience, the Tigers are starting over.
CBS only counts players as returning starters if they made at least six starts last year, which makes Clemson’s number even more glaring. For a program that’s built its reputation on developing talent from within, rolling into the season with just eight returning starters is a huge risk.
Offensively, there’s at least some hope: T.J. Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr. are back at receiver, Olsen Patt-Henry returns at tight end, and Collin Sadler and Harris Sewell give the line some muscle. But the real trouble is on defense. After losing a wave of talent to the NFL and graduation, only three starters are back: linebacker Sammy Brown, defensive end Will Heldt, and corner Ashton Hampton.
If you’re wondering why the oddsmakers aren’t buying Clemson this year, just look at the experience gap in the ACC. While the Tigers are breaking in new faces, their main rivals are loaded with veterans. Virginia Tech leads the way with 14 returning starters, and Miami, Pittsburgh, SMU, and Wake Forest each bring back 11.
Even the opener against LSU is a mismatch in experience, with the Tigers from Baton Rouge returning nine starters. Dabo Swinney loves to say he’d rather have a hungry young cat than a fat old one, but this year, he’s betting everything that raw talent can make up for a serious lack of experience.