Examining what it will take for Clemson to get back to national title contention

Clemson was regularly contending for national championships during a six-year span under Dabo Swinney as the Tigers made the College Football Playoff six straight seasons, winning a pair of national titles.

However, Clemson has taken a step back in recent years, missing the CFP three consecutive seasons and losing at least three games in each of those years.

On3’s Andy Staples recently joined Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain to discuss where the Clemson program is and what it will take for the Tigers to get back near the top.

“I think it comes down to the receivers and Cade and the offensive line,” Staples explained. “And I’m going to say what I say every time when it comes to Clemson – just take a couple of people out of the portal. Just a couple. One impact receiver, one offensive lineman in a key spot. Like just a couple.”

Clemson is known for its lack of transfer portal use as the Tigers have not added a starting-caliber player via transfer during the portal era.

Staples believes that if Clemson is going to win another national title under Swinney, it has to at least somewhat embrace the transfer portal.

“You don’t have to do what Florida State’s doing. I understand why you don’t want to mess with your culture and your continuity,” Staples said. “But the reason you’re not as good anymore is because you don’t fix the things that you can fix immediately and other schools fix them more efficiently than you.

“So that’s my concern. I don’t know that they ever get back to national title contention, unless they are willing to build their roster the way everybody else is. You don’t have to go to the extreme.”

Staples used Kirby Smart and Georgia as an example of the way Clemson could use the portal. The Bulldogs are successful because of high school recruiting and development but also because they will fill a hole with a transfer when they need to.

“I would argue that Kirby Smart at Georgia is not overly reliant on the transfer portal. But when they need somebody, like they lose Brock Bowers, they go and get Benjamin Yurosek from Stanford, who looks the most like Brock Bowers of anybody who played last year. There’s no shame in that,” Staples said. “It’s not dirty. It’s not against the rules. Everybody is doing that, and you don’t have to do it to the extreme.

“Because I agree with Dabo when he says the way Clemson recruits is special. It leads to a certain culture. It leads to a certain ability to develop players better. He’s right. It doesn’t mean he can’t find two or three players a year who will fit into that culture and help you at positions of need immediately.”

We should get an idea of just how ready Clemson is to compete for a national title early on this year. The Tigers open the 2024 season against Georgia in Atlanta.