Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney joined ACC Network’s ACC PM show on Tuesday.

During his on-air interview, Swinney was asked to share his thoughts on where we are in the new era of college football and college sports with the transfer portal, NIL, etc.

“I mean, it has definitely been a crazy time for everybody,” Swinney said. “I think we’re probably on the back 25 percent of crazy. There’s still more to come and things we’ve got to sort out. But I think we’re through the biggest portion of it.”

While Swinney acknowledged there’s “some real challenges” in navigating the changing and chaotic landscape of college athletics, he said he doesn’t get distracted by things outside of his control.

“I truly wake up every day and focus on what’s best for Clemson and what’s best for these kids on this team, what’s best for our locker room, what’s best for our staff, and we make decisions based on that,” Swinney said. “That’s really it. Nothing has changed for us. I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to be a leader, and I take a lot of pride in how we do things here at Clemson. We’ve got great young men that come from all over the country to be a part of our program, and it’s really special. It’s special to me.”

Of course, Swinney has caught a lot of heat for his transfer portal approach and the fact Clemson was one of only four FBS programs (Army, Navy, Air Force) to not take a transfer during the 2024 portal cycle.

Although the Tigers have rarely brought in players from the transfer portal, Swinney brought up that Clemson typically doesn’t lose a lot of players to the portal relative to other programs.

“These kids care about the place,” Swinney said. “I think we were second or third in retention this past year, fewest guys that leave. We have guys that will leave here or there, too, but most of the kids that leave Clemson are either graduates or they just want to play more somewhere. We have the highest graduation rate in the country. We’ve been incredibly consistent.

“We’re still purpose-driven. Even though there’s all kinds of new elements to college football, our purpose hasn’t changed at all. Every single day, that’s what I do, wake up and I try to fulfill the purpose and the promises that we’ve set forth in this program – to build great men, to educate them, to make sure they have a good experience, and to win a championship. And the results of our past 16 years reflect that purpose. So, it really hasn’t changed for us.”

Swinney reiterated that Clemson does “what’s best for Clemson” in today’s college sports world.

“These are real-time things that you make decisions on year in and year out based on where you are, what’s your roster, who’s coming back, who are you recruiting, all these type of things,” Swinney said. “There’s a lot that goes into it, but we’ve got a great foundation. We have just an amazing place to come to work every day, and I’m thankful for the people and thankful for the young men that I get to do life with each and every day.”

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!