CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney sat in a four-hour head coaches’ meeting on Tuesday and heard a lot of horror stories on things Clemson is not having to deal with when it comes to the NIL, transfer portal and player retention.

“I am very thankful for that. It is a blessing,” Swinney said.

The Tigers have been blessed when it comes to retaining the nucleus of their team, especially this year. Stars such as quarterback Cade Klubnik, wide receivers Antonio Williams, T.J. Moore, Bryant Wesco and Adam Randall, lineman Tristan Leigh and Blake Miller and defensive stars T.J. Parker, Peter Woods and Wade Woodaz have all decided to return to Clemson.

In all, while some teams are losing 20 to 25 players to the transfer portal, Clemson lost just five scholarship players and not a single one was a full-time starter.

“They are all important to me. I just don’t have some important players, they’re all important,” Swinney said. “If they are a Tiger, they are important to me. Every single one of them.”

Clemson’s head coach says his players want to stay at Clemson because Clemson is not in the market of running players off, which reflects well on the program, and its culture. Unlike some programs, players are not concerned about being asked to leave.

“The way I look at it, I don’t run anybody off,” he said. “Y’all know that and people who know this program know that. If they are not good enough, that is our fault. It is still graduation do us part. Period, the end. That is why we do not offer many guys. They know I am not going to run a kid off, that is not how we operate.”

Swinney says the fact Clemson losses so few players to the transfer portal just fortifies what he already knows. Their program is unique in college football.

“We are a very unique and uncommon program in every sense of the word,” he said. “We are unique in everything. When it comes to graduation. When it comes to winning close games. When it comes to nine-plus win seasons, when it comes to championships. When it comes to graduation success rate. When it comes to retention and when it comes to development.

“We are unique in all of those areas. We are not perfect, by any stretch, but we are very unique. In today’s world of college football… I think we were second in the country in retention last year. This year, we will probably be first.”

What’s more impressive about Clemson’s ability to retain players is the NCAA’s lack of structure regarding NIL, the transfer portal and tampering.

“I think it speaks to (the players) really valuing the place,” Swinney said. “There is a component there that has to make sense, but they value the relationship, and they value the place. It has to be more than just football. You have to have relationships in place that are real.”

Swinney says it’s part of his job and his coaches’ job to make sure his players have a good experience. He does not want to lose anybody, but they are thankful to those who have decided to stay on and continue to grow in the program.

“Retention is about relationships, development and a vision. A vision that is laid out, so it was awesome,” Swinney said. “We got a good football team coming back. A team that is coming off a championship. It is coming off a playoff appearance.

“These guys all have clear eyes going into this off-season knowing that they are good enough. It is one thing to think you are and it is another thing to know you are. This group will hit the off-season knowing what it looks like and knowing that they are good enough, but also knowing there is a small margin for error, and we have to get better. We all have to level up a little bit and that is what we will do.”