Dabo Swinney digs his feet deeper in his own grave over transfer portal

Dabo Swinney is many things, including a National Champion. He is not a reasonable man, nor one to ever back down from a statement he's previously made. Once Dabo says literally anything, it's basically gospel. This includes some harsh criticism of the transfer portal, which Swinney hates with a passion for some reason.

Over the offseason, Swinney made several critical comments about the transfer portal and the players in it. Clemson's roster doesn't feature many (if any) players from the portal, and there's a reason for that.

“I mean, it’s really pretty simple. Most of the guys in the portal aren’t good enough to play for us. That’s just the reality of it. I mean, we have guys that are backups at Clemson that go in the portal because they just want to have an opportunity, and most of them are graduates, by the way. But we have guys that are backups. They want a chance to go play. I’ve got no problem with that. So rarely do we have a starter leave Clemson," Swinney said.

Dabo Swinney hasn't seen the light about the transfer portal, even after Clemson's loss

Most major Power-5 teams use the transfer portal. Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and more use the transfer portal. Even in the ACC, Florida State and Miami use the transfer portal. What I'm getting at is simple -- Swinney must adapt from his archaic philosophy or watch Clemson slowly but surely become irrelevant on the national stage. They will fall behind -- adapt or die is college sports running motto after all.

Yet, even after a blowout loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, Swinney didn't see the light.

“People are gonna say whatever they want to say,” Swinney said. “We do what’s best for Clemson year in and year out. And when you lose like this — that have any right to say whatever they want. So, say whatever you want to say, write whatever you want to write. It comes with it, it’s a part of it.”

What Dabo fails to realize is that media isn't the enemy here. He is the reason for Clemson's lack of success in the transfer portal, not me. Meanwhile, during Georgia's dominant win over the Tigers in Atlanta, Swinney watched as the Bulldogs leading receiver was (wait for it) a transfer from Vanderbilt!

Yes, while Kirby Smart is also quite selective in his portal process, plenty of players have made the cut, including former Vandy receiver London Humphreys, who made an immediate impact on Saturday.