CLEMSON — Prior to Clemson’s loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl, Dabo Swinney was asked about losing starting safety Khalil Barnes to the transfer portal.

Barnes was just the second starter the Tigers lost to the transfer portal, coincidentally the first also played the safety position at Clemson. Andrew Mukuba transferred to Texas in 2024 and helped lead the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff Semifinals, which included a win over Clemson in the first round.

“You are always going to have transfers in today’s world. I don’t know if there is going to be a team without one,” Swinney said last month. “You are always going to have somebody, the way this system is set up now. It just is what it is.

“We will always have some. We will always have the fewest or near the fewest. That will probably always be the case and rarely have we ever lost a starter.”

I guess Dabo spoke too soon.

The Tigers lost another starter to the portal on Saturday, when safety Ricardo Jones announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal. They also lost defensive tackle Stephiylan Green to the portal, as he put his name in when the portal opened on Friday.

Green was technically a starter in 2025. He started six of the 10 games he played in 2025, and, outside of Peter Woods, was the most productive defensive tackles Clemson had. He recorded 25 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three quarterback pressures and one pass break up.

Though Swinney is right, Clemson is near the bottom of the list when it comes to losing players to the transfer portal, the Tigers have already succeeded last year’s tally and there are still 10 days left until it closes on Jan. 16.

Clemson has lost 13 players from the 2025 roster to the transfer portal, one more than it had in 2024. The number could increase, as our sources tell us that tight end Olsen Patt-Henry is still in negotiations with Clemson.

The Clemson Insider also heard things are still up in the air with wide receivers Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore, as they continue to negotiate their deals, as well. There are also a few others we have heard that could possibly put their names into the portal.

In other words, Clemson is not out of the woods by any stretch right now.

But the facts are these, the Tigers have already lost three defensive starters to the portal, when in the previous five years combined, the program lost one.

I know Swinney is proud of his program and he is proud that Clemson’s culture is still intact. I get all of that, however, things are changing. More and more players are going into the transfer portal, and as we have seen, it is happening at Clemson too.

This is part of the new world of college football. Clemson is not immune to it. And Clemson cannot afford Swinney to be asleep at the wheel.