Last week was a whirlwind for Clemson football fans as news from portal visits and commitments poured in. This week, not so much.

The Tigers landed 10 commitments between Monday and Saturday, with nine of those coming on the defensive side of the ball. Many of the glaring holes that existed on Tom Allen’s defense have now been filled through those portal acquisitions. Or at least that is the hope.

Clemson has signed two defensive tackles, two defensive ends, two safeties, two corners and a linebacker.

With Dabo Swinney choosing not to pursue a portal quarterback, there weren’t many obvious needs on the offense. The Tigers did sign one player on the offensive side, and it was a big one in running back Chris Johnson Jr. Pairing a veteran alongside rising sophomore Gideon Davidson certainly seems like the smart move.

However, with the Tigers losing four starting offensive linemen, including both starters at tackle, the obvious move would have been to add an offensive lineman or two, and that has not happened. There have been a handful of names linked to Clemson, all of them tackles, but all ended up elsewhere.

With the portal closing on Friday, the window to add an offensive lineman is closing. To be clear, teams can still sign players after the window closes, but the closer we get to Friday, the number of realistic options continues to dwindle.

If no offensive lineman is added, that obviously means Clemson will ride with what they have on the roster, just like Swinney is planning to do at quarterback. Brayden Jacobs, Harris Sewell, Collin Sadler and Elyjah Thurmon are all back, and all have starting experience, but that isn’t what one might call a veteran-laden group. The depth behind those four players is extremely inexperienced. It just feels like the Tigers, at the very least, need a tackle to line up opposite of Jacobs in 2026 and bridge the gap to those younger guys. We’ll see if there is still a move to be made there.

There’s also a possibility of another player being added on the defensive side of the ball. While two defensive tackles have been added in Oklahoma’s Markes Strong and West Georgia’s Kourtney Kelly, we can tell you that the staff is still open to the possibility of adding a third.

Whether Clemson ends up landing another player or two has yet to be determined. When it’s all said and done, maybe the Tigers end up with the 10 portal additions they already have.

Photo by Bart Boatwright