During his weekly Tuesday press conference, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talked about retaining players after the 2025 season.

Ahead of Saturday’s Senior Day game vs. Furman, as the Tigers (5-5, 4-4 ACC) go down the stretch of the season, Swinney was asked how much he’s keeping an eye on retention and thinking about next year and having conversations with players who might have an NFL decision to make — or maybe don’t have a decision, but there’s the transfer portal.

“To me, that never stops. That’s always just a part of what we do in college football,” Swinney said. “That’s spring, that’s summer, that’s fall camp, that’s in-season. That’s not just like, ‘OK, this week is the week we sit down.’ That’s always just a part of what you do.

“You’ll have deeper conversations with guys. You’re getting NFL grades back. So, that’s all things that we sit down, and some guys will have to make a decision on do they want to go pro, do they want to stay.”

As for the transfer portal, Swinney is glad that the NCAA is officially moving college football’s transfer portal season from December to January and shifting to a single transfer window.

Starting with the 2026 cycle, players will have a 15-day stretch from Jan. 2 through Jan. 16 to formally enter their names in the portal.

“The portal, it’s been moved. I’m glad it’s not in two weeks or whatever,” Swinney said. “I still don’t like where it is, but at least it’s just one, and it’s better where it is than where we had it. You’ll have time in December to really process all that type of stuff.”

Swinney’s team returns to the field for Saturday’s Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day game vs. Furman. The contest is set for 4:30 p.m. and will be televised on The CW.