CLEMSON, S.C. — After dipping his toe in the transfer portal in recent years, Dabo Swinney is fully engaged in the portal process, jumping in with both paws in 2025.
The Tigers currently have three players out of the portal as part of the 2025 roster. That is one more than the previous six years when the portal first came into existence. The Tigers took just two players out of the portal during that span.
This three players Clemson signed out of the portal for this year are: Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Tristan Smith, Purdue defensive lineman Will Heldt and Alabama linebacker Jeremiah Alexander.
High school recruitng will always be the main supplier of players for the roster but if Clemson has a need that can be filled through the portal, that's the route Clemson will take.
"Our process is still the same," Swinney said. "We're gonna recruit high school kids as long as we can get the best of the best — as long as we can go get the Gideon Davidsons of the world, Sammy Browns of the world, the T.J. Parkers, Peter Woods and Cade Klubniks.
"If we have a situation, and we have a gap in our roster or we have kids that leave that all of a sudden create a gap, then you have to address that."