Dabo Swinney Will NEVER Change His Transfer Portal Stance

so if we're going to hit the in the armor for the Georgia program then we got to hit the in the armor or is it a is a gaping gash in the armor of Clemson football that everyone talks about these days and that's transfer portal why doesn't dbo use the transfer portal now Lou Jason and I get together about every week and uh I've given Jason a few weeks off here but uh I'm going to rope him back into our weekly discussion to talk Clemson now that we're into the season and we've been a little light on the transfer portal because it's my thought okay this guy's an all-time great and the the program hasn't collapsed and as Jason has correctly pointed out their transfer losses have been minimal and those losses have been much more minimal when you consider the quality of the player they just haven't lost that much as well so that's got to be considered but at the same time is this not truly the correlation of NFL free agency where yes you build through the draft but to be successful you got to supplement your your issues and when you're competitors especially Florida State in 2024 or 2023 being the prime example of a team that stocked up and won a championship at least in the ACC on transfer players that you got to think that dabo's either going to he's he's obviously drawn his line and he's either going to stand on it here in 2024 and it's going to prove that he's ultimately right or he's gonna have to bend at some point yeah you know if you go back to the off season you saw Clipson try to Target a small number of offensive line I can't remember if it was three or four and one of those guys was actually Keon rutle who was fantastic for Georgia Tech against Florida stayed on Saturday yeah that's part of why he ended up at Georgia Tech because davo you know davo is not going to promise anybody a starting spot and he's not gonna get into this bid War for you stuff you know I I kind of like Kirby's approach to the portal you know he doesn't lean on it heavily but if he sees a hole he needs to plug he goes and gets a guy um you that that that would be my preference if we're talking about Dabo and his portal strategy um I think they need to be a little more aggressive than they have been you can't recruit the portal the same way you do high school guys um you got Clemson's recruiting Pro process moves at a snail's pace and and when you do that with portal guys man they're committed for you can even get them on campus for a visit um I do think it's an approach that's got to be tweaked I don't think he's got to rely heavily on it if you go back over the last few years since the Advent of the board there's really only one starter they lost which was Andrew makuba they almost lost him the year before last but um if you want to throw Bo Collins in there you can I'm not sure he was going to be starting this year but um at the very least his snaps were going to go down dramatically but even when you're still when you're losing backup guys and you're losing you know reder freshman and sophomores routinely to the portal even if they're death guys and you're replacing them with high school guys you're always going to stay young and inexperienced you're not developing at the same Pace you used to develop um I would like to see Dao at least you know I'll use defensive end as an example that was a spot most people thought Clemson needed to you know bring in a guy from the portal kind of bridge a gap not a lot of experience behind TJ Parker and he's only gonna be a sophomore um instead they choose to move Peter Woods outside you know I think Clemson's got a lot of depth you know on the interior they they can afford to move Peter Woods outside I think he'll probably play pretty well there we saw Christian Wilkins do the same thing for that clemon few years ago but is that what is that where Peter Woods would be at his best in outside as opposed to inside I'm not sure it is but um in was a spot that a lot of people thought davo should have looked at it in the portal and you know they they just instead of doing that they they move Woods outside uh with all due respect whether you're losing a starter or not is irrelevant when there are players in the portal that are better than your current starters um Dabba was putting himself at a competitive disadvantage compared to everyone else in college football it becomes even worse when you realize that while Clemson recruits good out of high school they do not recruit great or Elite they're a 10 to 15 recruiting team you look at the teams that recruit in the top five Georgia Bama Ohio State Michigan wherever you want to name they're out recruiting Clemson by a country mile out of high school and then they're adding two or three elite players a year with experience to their roster through the portal that are immediate starters so this idea that well we're not losing starters so maybe we don't need anybody from the portal is a little bit silly um especially when you don't have a wide receiver that anybody can name your offensive line gets abused by everybody you play and you've had two quarterbacks in a row that can't hit the broad side of a barn if you put Keon Coleman and Devin ly on Clemson last year they win the AC it's not even close you're talking about something that's never going to happen it's never going to happen well then Clemson's never going to matter maybe not but not what has some kind of principled stance against 105 scholarships that starts next year and he says no we're not doing that we're only going to have 85 scholarship players because you know back in my day we didn't do that we didn't do things that way so we're not going to do it so everybody else has 105 scholarship players Clemson has 85 you okay with that too I mean you cannot sit back and allow teams that are already better than you to get a competitive Advantage Over You by using the portal because your coach has his head stuck in the sand the only thing to me worse than dabo's dare elction of Duty when it comes to the portal is fans Clemson fans who aren't screaming at the rooftop about Dabo driving a top five program into irrelevance By ignoring the portal the Portal's been around four years Clemson has gotten worse every single year since the portal was invented is it possible that's a coincidence I guess people can about all they want the teams that were already better than Clemson are getting even more better through the through the portal while Clemson is standing still they're getting lapped and I don't I'd be the most hated Georgia fan on the planet if Kirby Smart came out tomor and said I'm not using the portal we don't need it it's I don't agree with it it's against my principles I I I would be yelling from every rooftop uh that he needs to get it get it together this is insanity um Never Gonna Change on that he's not gonna do it man I'm gladon I'm glad you got to see him win two natties 10 years ago because it ain't happening again so Jason when you say he's never going to do it uh obviously if we're looking at the track record of four years I can agree with you and say yeah if he hasn't budged yet but he's got to be smarter than that we know that the man is smarter than that we know that football coaches are arrogant by nature and they're stubborn by nature and when they've had the success that he has I understand where that thinking comes to from a certain aspect but we saw Nick Sabin and we saw him change when he was very outfront about I don't want to change I don't want to play this style of football don't think it's good football but that's the way the game's evolving and so I would be a fool not to change with it therefore we're hiring Lane kein and we're going to throw the football all over the lot and you know that I admire dbos Sweeney for a lot of characteristics and but I just don't think that this is some kind of ethical or morality play I don't think it has anything to do with being right or wrong ethically it's the way the game's changed and the rules have changed when I say never going to do it what I mean is he's never going to give up a give up on a kid after a year or two and replace him with a guy from the portal uh let's say Kade clet for example since he mentioned Deon Larry never gonna happen he's just not gonna do it he it's a promise he makes to those kids and their families on the recruiting Trail and you know what since we're talking about the portal you got to get into nil stuff I don't know that Clemson can get involved in those kind of bid Wars I don't think they can afford to win I don't think they can afford to win them and if they could win one or two here there then you start talking about losing the guys already on your roster um it's not like Clemson's got this big huge Rich alumni base that some of these other schools have man they're having to walk a fine line with how they spend some of that nil money but people can can like it or not like it agree with it not agree with it you know that you he dbos sween's made it clear man you can agree with it or not agree with it he he he wants to run a developmental program and he he's just not going to lean heavily on the portal to replace guys he recruited to come play let me ask this you say he makes these promises to these recruits and their families what promises is he making that he's not gonna get their spot away to a guy in the portal but he'll give it away to a true freshman that he recruits the next year I I'm just telling you like it what what the way it is man disagree with it what happened to I mean what promises Kelly Bryant and then he sat Kelly Bryant on his butt and put Trevor Lawrence in now that was the right move you know why Trevor Lawrence was better he didn't give his spot away to Trevor Lawrence yes he did Trevor Lawrence beat him out on the field well you you can bring a transfer in and have an open competition and if the transfer beats him out he beats him out if he doesn't the the other guy gets to start I don't I don't see the difference between a true I think I said a minute ago Junior losing his starting job to a true freshman out of high school versus a sophomore out of the portal I difference reminder here my name's not Davos Sweeney it is not my philosophy I am not defending it I'm just telling you what is well it just is what it is people I I said people can like it they can hate it agree with it disagree whatever man he he's kind of dug in on it I don't know that he's gonna change I hope he doesn't CU if he does he'll go back to running an elite program again right now that's one less hurdle for everybody else I I me I just it doesn't matter to me one way or other you know yeah I don't to me I I don't care anymore at this point you know it's just dang kind of is what it is that bad huh well no it's not that it's just ever since what ever since I started doing this for a Liv man it's just taking all the emotion out of man I I don't care whether they win or lose anymore I is what it is that's something serious S I don't I'm not much of a fan the way I used to be before I started doing it for a Liv and I don't know I got a different perspective on it now and it's it's just changed it for me emotionally I guess yeah I guess I don't know I hope you're right that happens to a lot of people you Mark Mark you're still way too emotional when it comes to Ohio State you're way too emotional you've really seen that have you you're way too I remember 10 years agoin what are you talking about 10 years ago Clemson lost a football game man I might not sleep for a day or two man there you go I'm not I don't know I don't know if it's because I gotten older I started doing this for living or what I I I just don't have any I'm not tied emotionally to it anymore I still get really really mad when Georgia loses and really upset and really bother I guess the only difference is now um I make a lot more money and it might have had something to do with with watching Clipson win a couple of national titles too something I didn't think was ever gonna happen again in my lifetime you know I was a little kid when they won the first one and something I never me out yeah that followed me out some too like losing to Alabama last year in the SEC Championship game was rough but it would have been a lot rougher had we not just won two national titles so you know made it a little bit easier to stomach so I get where you're coming fromes yeah I get where you're coming from now PRI like prior to that like because you know we kept taking these losses to B like winning in halftime and lose the game and it kept happening over and over and I I mean I just I thought it was never going to end but then you know uh won a couple of them and so that that I I get where you're coming from there that that did make the loss last year A little I mean I still wish we would have won and made the playoffs and all that but um it wasn't as bad as like say the loss in 2018 in the SEC title game yeah and the expectations have a lot to do with it I know it's an Ohio State fan that every time there's some kind of ranking that comes out being number three on the list or number four or things that would get a Penn State fan or a Tennessee fan giddy doesn't sit right because Ohio State fans want to be number one on every list they want to be number one in recruiting they want to be number one in National Championships they want to be number one in winning percentage and when Alabama rules the world that doesn't sit well even if you could argue well we've been number two or if George is ruling the W well number TW doesn't sit right yeah see I I think I can understand that coming from maybe Ohio State fans or Alabama fans I mean as a as a Georgia fan I I even we Georgia's been really good for seven or eight years now they won two national titles they're winning a bunch of games and all that but I still don't go into a season thinking well if we don't win the national title we're just terrible like I you know and I sort of understand that from an Alabama perspective especially Alabama fans who sort of you know depending on their age maybe they sort of came into their fanhood at with the r and Nick Sabin I mean all they've seen is Bama just win win win win win win win win win win win win win so you know they go 10 and two and miss the playoffs a couple of years ago and the sky is falling you know I I I still don't feel that way as a Georgia fan like I I enjoyed last season I wish it wouldn't have ended but like I wasn't you know okay well we weren't quite good enough last year yeah there there's a lot of C you know after those 2016 and 2018 season they expected to win a National Title every year every year and you know it's just that's not gonna happen anywhere yeah and I'm kind of glad I haven't gotten to that and honestly I don't think Georgia fans really deserve to be at that like I get it like Alabama and Ohio State have been dominant multiple decades going back a long time and stuff like that Georgia's been a good program in most decades maybe you throw out the 90s or part most of the 90s um but you know they're not on like in Alabama or an Ohio State I don't want you know the whole kind of a blue blood discussion Georgia I don't think Georgia's is a blue blood I think they're the first team that's not kind of on that list but so I don't go into a season no matter how good I think George is going to be thinking well you know if we don't go 100 and0 and win the national title it's complete waste of a season you know I I I don't I don't necessarily think that we want to take I'm sorry Jason go ahead expecting to go in a season you know going into an the season and expecting to win every game all the way to the National TI that seems like it would take some of the fun out of right and there's only one possible outcome that you can come away Happy from like you're just you 99 times out of 100 you're going to be miserable at the end of the year if you're a national title or bust kind of mentality again understanding why Alabama fans especially over the last 10 years have kind of felt that way because they were there or winning it almost every single year so I sort of get it on their end but and because of what Sab pulled off probably I don't even know if happy would describe it it would just be kind of satisfied like okay we accomplished what we're supposed to do that's what we're supposed to do right like sun rising you know oh sun came up again today go figure we won another National Title college football is even more exciting with some action on the line and the games are even better when you're cashing in and the voice of college football is the place to be to get the greatest value let's start with my picks 75% against the money line 58% against the spread I've got a 40-year track record in fact in 2023 at $100 played per game you would have netted over $9,300 and guess what I'm just the warm-up act Steve Merrill our Ace in the Hole show stopper from wager talk six years with the voice of college football over 30 years in the industry Steve gives us analysis on all the big games but you can't miss Steve's weekly under the radar pick which went 21 and5 against the spread the last two seasons I repeat 21 and5 against the spread you also get picks from some of our top analysts here at the voice of college football including Steve da and Matt zik become a YouTube channel member or patreon member for just $99 per month go to the main Channel on YouTube click join and select the betting tier do the same thing on patreon make 2024 a winner now