Swinney says NIL and portal are not the problem: 'The problem is tampering'

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and Kentucky's Mark Stoops shared some common ground Thursday on the issue of tampering in college football.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Dec 07 17:30:15 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney says the Tigers are invested in the transfer portal and are trying to bring in a few players to help in critical spots.

The transfer portal opened up earlier this week, and the Tigers already have several players moving on, including defensive end David Ojiegbe and safety Andrew Mukuba. Swinney, on a call Thursday to preview the Gator Bowl matchup against Kentucky, was asked how he looked at the transfer portal this season.

“Really, nothing's different than it's ever been. We evaluate the portal just like we evaluate anything else,” Swinney said. “We have a huge staff that is on top of that stuff. If we feel like there's a need, then we'll try to fill that need. Just like we've signed a couple of kids the last couple of years that fit a need for us. We've tried in a couple of other spots the last couple of years that on guys that we felt like would not just be guys coming in here but really fit the bill, if you will, and we didn't get them. So, nothing's really changed for us, with the exception of this year, we've got one position in particular that we'd like to find a couple of guys that maybe have multiple years of eligibility. And really, that's only because we missed out on some of the top high school kids that we were after.

“That's probably the main thing that's different. We'll see how it all plays out. But again, it's a two-way street. You can like people all you want, but they have to like you too. But I guarantee you when it's all said and done, we'll fill our roster out. We don't have a lot of spots open. We really like the guys that are returning, and we think we've got a great recruiting class that's coming in. A lot of these guys are mid-years, but there's potentially a couple of spots that we probably need to fill. And again, we'll see how it goes.”

Swinney and Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops agreed that a new rule change that keeps the dead period open a few days past the last game gives coaches the chance to recruit their own roster, but both also said more changes need to be enacted to help high school recruiting and prevent tampering.

“It is crazy. There's a lot going on. There's a couple of things that I think should change. Obviously, first of all, I think it's sad what's going on with high school recruiting,” Swinney said. “Honestly, there's a lot of high school kids that aren't getting signed anymore, and that's a really sad thing. There are a lot of high school kids that have been committed for a long time that now, all of a sudden, the portal comes open, and they're being pushed to the side or told, 'Hey, you might want to look around.'

“I honestly wish they would put the signing period, maybe August 1 or something, just to where these kids could sign and be done with it and free them up, though, if the head coach left or is fired. I think they need an out there. And it's not the portal. Portal is not the problem; NIL is not the problem. The problem is tampering. That's the problem. That is the problem in college football. And that could be fixed easily, too, if they would let football people fix it. But we don't usually get a vote in that. But that's the biggest challenge that we're dealing with is that aspect of it.”