Rece Davis goes on a passionate rant against Dabo Swinney 'blasphemy'

Dabo Swinney has become a story of his own considering how he has taken on this era of college football. Still, considering the criticism that that has brought on, it has given Rece Davis a reason to hope to see him and Clemson prove people wrong.

Davis snapped on those who have issue with the Tigers’ approach during a recent episode of the ‘College GameDay Podcast’. He has grown tired of hearing many question a coach that has spent the last decade competing for national titles. While that hasn’t been what they’ve done in the 2020s, he still doesn’t see that as a reason to doubt him with what all he has still accomplished.

“(Pete) Thamel will always say on this podcast that, you know, ‘We don’t root for teams. We root for stories’. So, in that vein, I’m rooting for the story of Clemson,” said Davis. “I’m sick to death, sick to death of the Dabo blasphemy. I’ve had it.”

“I mean – ‘You’ve got to use the portal!’” Davis mocked. “You know what? The guy has won two national championships and played for two more. If he thinks it can work this way, why would we just automatically assume that because they’ve had a couple of, by recent Clemson standards – by all-time Clemson standards, they haven’t had down years. By recent Clemson standards, they’ve had a couple of not as championship-caliber years.”

Now, to be fair, Davis admits that Swinney being stubborn about aspects like the portal or name, image, and likeness isn’t a positive. However, using that as reasoning to suggest that he isn’t as great as he has been before is what has irked him.

“I do think sometimes he is pre-disposed to digging his heels in for the sake of digging his heels in. He should not do that,” said Davis. “I’m not saying they should never take a transfer. I’m not saying he shouldn’t look to the portal. In fact, I think he should. But I think this whole idea that the game has passed him by? He doesn’t know what he’s doing and all of this stuff? That’s what has gotten under my skin about it.”

It’s well-known as to how Swinney has gone about adjusting to the modern facets of college athletics.

With the transfer portal, Clemson has only taken three over the past six years in QBs Hunter Johnson and Paul Tyson and WR Blackmon Huckabee. In turn, though, they’ve only lost 46 to the portal, with 41 of those departing in the last four years, for an average around seven or eight an offseason. That kind of retainment is what Swinney is working for in order to build the roster how he sees fit through recruiting rather than transfers.

As for NIL, the Tigers have collectives working for them like 110 Society, Dear Old Clemson, and TigerImpact. With that said, Swinney’s feelings on that topic is clear as well.

Swinney isn’t diving into the deep end with these changes, which is okay, like other programs are, which is okay for them too. There’s more than one way to win and, with that, Davis wants to see it for them too if for no other reason than to create a positive headline about his outlook.

“I’m rooting for that story,” Davis said. “Not because I’m against the portal. The way that Lane (Kiffin) is doing it? Go for it. No problem, no problem at all. Dabo is trying to do it his way – good for him! Go ahead.

“I hope Clemson is really, really good this year. Not rooting for the team but rooting for that story because of that.”