Tigers running back entering transfer portal

The Clemson running back room will lose another talented tailback for the second time in this calendar year. Senior Lyn-J Dixon has entered the transfer portal, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney announced on his call-in show.

Swinney has been open throughout the fall about how Dixon and first-year running backs coach C.J. Spiller have struggled to be on the same page. Through three games, he has only carried the ball 10 times. He had plenty of opportunities to leave before this year as he patiently waited his turn behind Travis Etienne.

The news is a shock to the system. Exiting spring camp, it was expected Dixon would be the main ball carrier. But with the development and Will Shipley, Dixon’s role has diminished. He is the second upperclassmen Clemson back to enter the portal; Chez Mellusi transferred to Wisconsin in the spring.

“He just needs to grow up,” Swinney said less than 10 days ago. “It’s that simple. He needs to be a team player. Just grow up. He’s a very good player, obviously he’s very talented, we’ve seen that. But just need him to stay out of Spiller’s dog house, that’s really it.”

A former four-star recruit, Dixon leaves his time at Clemson with 218 career carries for 1,420 yards and 13 touchdowns. Since he never took a redshirt in his four seasons with the Tigers and has only played in three games this season, he will be eligible to play next season.

For Clemson, the loss means the Tigers only have three scholarship backs. Shipley will now be looked at to garner the most carries, followed by Kobe Pace as the No. 2 tailback. True freshman Phil Mafah will also earn some carries if needed; he hasn’t played in a game yet this season.

Next steps for Clemson running back in transfer portal

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be  contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.