CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney made a promise on the Adam Breneman’s Next Up podcast earlier this week.

His promise.

He says he is going to take Clemson back to the top.

“I am not saying we are going to win the national championship this year, but we are going to be better,” Swinney said on the podcast, which was aired earlier this week. “We are going to take Clemson back to the top. You best believe that. But how we are going to do it is still driven by our purpose.”

Clemson’s purpose, according to Swinney, is the same today for the program that it has been since he became the Tigers’ head coach in 2009.

What’s the purpose?

First, it is to graduate players. Clemson leads the nation in graduation rate and under Swinney, no football program in the country has had more players graduate.

Secondly, Clemson equips its players to be men. The goal is not to be better at running routes, blocking and tackling. It is to equip its student-athletes with the necessary tools to be prepared for life, in particular, life after football.

There is also the college experience. Swinney wants his players to enjoy their experience at Clemson, which he says is why Clemson retains so many players in this day and age when so many student-athletes leave from one school to the next at other places.

Finally, it is about winning championships. Of Swinney’s 17 recruiting classes, only one has not won at least a conference championship, and that is last year’s freshman class.

“We have won by fulfilling the purpose,” Swinney said. “Yes, we are unique and we are different, and that is how we have done ‘the common things in an uncommon way and that is how we have commanded the attention of the world.’ We have lived that quote out for a long time.

“We are far from perfect. We screw up and we make mistakes, but we are always learning and we are always growing. We do not get away from our core values. We do not get away from the foundation of this program. We build this thing from the inside out.”

And that is why, despite losing nine players to the NFL Draft this past April, Swinney feels the Tigers will be back in position to contend for another ACC Championship this year.

“The way we have won, yeah, it is unique. Yeah, it is different, but I believe that is what has made us successful,” Swinney said. “You can do what everybody else does, or you can be unique and you can be different.”

Though the Clemson program is still different compared to others, the Tigers did go out and bring in 12 players from the transfer portal, the most Swinney has signed since the transfer portal became a thing in 2021.

Will it translate into another ACC Championship and College Football Playoff Appearance for Clemson? Time will tell.