Top Three Positions to Watch After Clemson's First Week of the Transfer Portal

The transfer portal looms on, and the Clemson Tigers are continuing to fill up their 2026 roster.

Head coach Dabo Swinney has already picked up eight transfers through the transfer portal in his first eight days, and the program isn’t showing signs of stopping just yet. The portal remains open until next Friday, Jan. 16, and Clemson fans should expect more to come in its final week of being open.

These are three of the top positions that the Tigers should be targeting entering the final week of the transfer portal chaos.

Offensive Lineman

Despite it potentially not being the amount to replenish the entire line, Clemson will be looking to find one or two key offensive linemen to add to its trenches.

Ryan Linthicum, Walker Parks, Blake Miller and Tristan Leigh are all departing from the program through graduation, meaning the offensive line is going to look very different than what viewers saw in years past. That group of four saw a total of over 2,600 snaps this season altogether, meaning more experience could be needed on the line, according to Pro Football Focus.

There have been several names that Clemson has been in contact with at the position. Emmanuel Poku was supposed to be on a visit on Friday; however, he visited South Carolina and committed there first. Johnnie Brown III, a transfer from Georgia Southern, visited Clemson but committed to Louisville.

Clemson has a lot of depth through its recruiting class, with three of its linemen being top 20 in the position, according to 247Sports. Look for Chancellor Barclay, Grant Wise and Carter Scruggs to potentially see time early, if the number remains low.

Defensive Tackle

On the other side of the line, Clemson is trying to finalize more deals at defensive tackle, despite already making two signings at the position.

Earlier this week, Kourtney Kelly and Markus Strong made their commitments to the Tigers through the portal, but based on the visits that Clemson has been having, it doesn’t seem like they will be slowing down at the position.

There was another duo that head coach Dabo Swinney hosted on campus this week as well. JUCO All-American Andy Burburija reported an offer from the Tigers and had a visit on Thursday. Pittsburgh transfer, Francis Brewu, was also a reported candidate for the Tigers. Neither has committed just yet, and they are still great candidates to join the team.

Of course, the team is depleted at the position due to the departures of Stephiylan Green, DeMonte Capehart and Peter Woods. Woods and Capehart declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, while Green moved to LSU through the portal.

From a recruiting standpoint, three-star Kameron Cody was the only player at defensive tackle who committed to Clemson.

Linebacker

Arguably, Clemson’s best pickup was California transfer Luke Ferrelli, who won the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year award last season. However, it could be a position that could be more work to be done.

USC linebacker Matai Tagoa’i was on campus this past week, being another addition that the Tigers could bring to the table. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound transfer could be a depth piece or turn into a breakout starter if he chooses the Tigers.

Swinney was able to snag four-star linebacker Brayden Reilly from high school, who will join the program next season. He flipped from Northwestern to Clemson over the course of this past football season.

The position group lost Wade Woodaz, who declared for the 2026 NFL Draft due to being out of eligibility. Jamal Anderson and Dee Crayton both entered the transfer portal, meaning that there are low numbers in the position group right now. However, that could be changing over the next week if Swinney wants to get a linebacker to contend for a starting position with Sammy Brown and Ferrelli.