Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney Makes Crazy Analogy About Transfer Portal

There are a lot of ways that the transfer portal can be described, but Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney perhaps made the best analogy yet.

Speaking to On3’s Andy Staples, Swinney is fully participating in his first transfer portal period, claiming the time is like the only thing he would think of.

“I feel like a preacher at a Vegas wedding chapel,” he said on Tuesday.

Dabo Swinney just now on signing players out of the portal:

“I feel like the preacher at a Vegas wedding chapel.”
— Andy Staples (@AndyStaples) January 13, 2026

The analogy isn’t so far-fetched as it seems, especially with someone as creative as Swinney. Clemson has had a plethora of players enter and leave program visits as quickly as under a day. With each team continuing to host players and give offers, not everybody comes into Clemson with the intention of going there.

The transfer portal was something that Swinney had to adjust to, especially due to multiple factors that occurred over this past season. The Tigers finished 7-6, the worst season that they’ve had in 15 years. The team also saw 14 players enter the portal, both walk-ons and pieces that were on scholarship, meaning the Clemson head coach needed to portal well.

On top of that, it wasn’t a period like last season, which had Will Heldt, Jeremiah Alexander and Tristan Smith as the Tigers’ only transfer pickups last season. As of Jan. 14, Swinney has already accommodated 10 incoming transfers, which would have been something unheard of about two years ago.

The Clemson head coach has spoken about doing it the right way, though. Swinney said that the program had not reached out to anybody until the transfer portal opened up on Jan. 2.

"I know everybody is working all these deals, we don't do that," Swinney said, "some of the best players out there, they will go in the portal, and 10 minutes later I'm committed somewhere, you know. That ain't how we operate here. We are going to do it right."

That process has seemed to work out for the Tigers. The program has picked up nine transfers on the defensive side of the ball to aid defensive coordinator Tom Allen. The one offensive transfer, SMU running back Chris Johnson Jr., brings speed to the unit.

Not only that, but offensive coordinator Chad Morris was hired to begin the new year, meaning a lot of changes are already happening inside the program. The acquisition of Johnson was for Morris to have more speed coming from the backfield.

Clemson should bounce back after a strong portal window, and even with a crazy analogy to show the revolving door of transfer recruits, it’s one of Swinney’s quirks that is added into his story as the Tigers’ head coach.

Follow along with all of Swinney’s acquisitions and departures with Clemson Tigers on SI’s transfer portal tracker.