Welcome to modern college football, Clemson.
The university added Purdue edge-rusher Will Heldt on Thursday via the transfer portal.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, it marks a breakthrough in Clemson’s football program history.
Heldt “becomes the first scholarship defensive player the Tigers have added via the portal since its inception in 2018,” Schefter wrote.
This season, Heldt was second on the Boilermakers in tackles for loss (10) and sacks (5).
As the Post and Courier’s Jon Blau noted, Clemson added Southeast Missouri wide receiver Tristan Smith, making this cycle the first time “Clemson double-dipped in the portal.”
The Tigers previously dabbled in the transfer portal to find backup quarterbacks Hunter Johnson in 2022 and Paul Tyson in 2023.
By adding a player of Heldt’s caliber, Clemson is finally playing by the same rules as the rest of college football.
Swinney downplayed the program’s past lack of portal activity and the newfound team-building strategy when discussing Smith’s addition.
“I know everybody makes a big deal,” Swinney said. “We’ve signed a kid out of the portal now, three out of the last four years,” he added.
“So, it’s not really where we live, but when we have a need, and we can’t address it through the high school, we fill our need.” (h/t Clemson Sports Talk)
Still, Swinney’s change in transfer portal stance is significant for a coach who, less than two years ago, said the only NIL his team needed to build around was “God’s name, image and likeness.”
Following a decisive Week 1 loss to Georgia, 34-3, Swinney doubled down on his staid approach, saying people demanding he embrace the portal “lost their freakin’ mind.”
“I’m not doing it another way,” Swinney said. “Everything doesn’t go the way you want every single time, but that doesn’t mean you get away from what your foundation is, what you believe.”
Three months later, Swinney’s actions present a change in philosophies.
It’s been a long time since Clemson was a player in the transfer portal.
Welcome, Tigers. We’ve been waiting.
