Dabo Swinney is serious when it comes to his convictions — whether spiritually as a person or professionally as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers.
Despite not adhering to the current norms of college football, Swinney has remained steadfast in his ways. Entering his 18th season at Clemson, he still wholeheartedly believes in doing things his own way.
For the longest time, Swinney and the Tigers refused to follow what many of their competitors were doing by dipping into the transfer portal to improve their roster. Overall, Clemson has signed just a handful of players out of the portal in recent years, and most were unnotable additions.
However, Swinney amended that stance a bit during the most recent winter portal cycle. While Clemson still only added three transfers, one in particular — former Purdue edge rusher Will Heldt — could make a major impact, according to CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer.
“Clemson finished last season ranked 59th in pressure rate, well below where you expect the Tigers to sit after finishing fourth, 22nd, 11th and 15th in that category across the last four seasons,” Hummer wrote. “Heldt helps address that shortcoming. He posted 10 TFLs and five sacks for Purdue last season and should form one of the best edge rusher duos in the country with T.J. Parker. Plus, Heldt’s presence itself is a bit of a swing factor in the playoff race. He’s the first significant transfer take of Dabo Swinney’s career.”
Heldt was actually one of two four-star transfers Clemson added, the other being Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Tristan Smith. The third was three-star Alabama linebacker Jeremiah Alexander.
The hype train for the Tigers was already building by the end of last season, knowing they were set to return a wealth of talent that helped them reach the first round of the College Football Playoff. According to ESPN, Clemson brings back 81% of its returning production — the highest among all 136 FBS teams.
That’s undoubtedly by design from Swinney and his staff. While that returning production technically includes Heldt, it’s still largely a team full of Clemson loyalists — including quarterback Cade Klubnik.
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Still, Swinney might not mind getting more players like Heldt, especially if it helps him capture his third national title.