CLEMSON — Something happened last year few thought would ever happen. Clemson Football used the transfer portal.

The Tigers went to the portal and pulled out star defensive end in Will Heldt, a future star at linebacker in Jeremiah Alexander and a wide receiver with a ton of upside in Tristan Smith. Heldt earned All-ACC honors this season, while Alexander became a regular in Clemson’s rotation and Smith made several big catches.

Another words, Dabo Swinney’s first dip into the portal was a productive one. The question now becomes — will Swinney continue to progress with the portal and bring in even more players this season?

Swinney said after national signing day earlier this month that, “we know what our needs are” when it comes to finding players in the portal.

The Tigers do have a lot of needs. What will they be?

Perhaps another quarterback to come in and compete for the starting job? Maybe another running back and an offensive lineman or two in order to gain a little more experience across the front? How about another wide receiver or defensive end?

Clemson could also use an experienced safety or more than one, plus another cornerback and linebacker. In other words, there are needs all over the place.

“We are going to do what is right. I don’t really care what other people do,” Swinney said. “Clemson is going to be just fine. We are going to do what is right. Always have.”

That line scared a lot of people into thinking the Tigers will not be as aggressive in the portal as other teams again this season. And though that is to be determined, The Clemson Insider has learned that Clemson is already identifying players that will go into the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2, that they want to pursue.

This is a very good sign.

We have been told the Tigers are doing their due diligence in terms of the portal and are taking the necessary steps to be ready to go when the portal officially opens.

There are only two weeks in which players have to enter the portal before it closes (Jan. 2-16), so we expect things to move fast and for the Tigers to be very active in terms of visits.

Because the portal opens in two weeks, unresolved items, like the coaching staff, will need to be finalized. It is important to have everyone and everything in place because players will be looking hard at who is calling plays and who might be their position coach.

As you know, Clemson will play Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday (noon, ABC) at Yankee Stadium in New York City. When the game is over, expect things to start moving pretty fast.

Stayed tuned to TCI for the latest news and information as it becomes available to us.