Clemson might’ve had a quiet 2025 recruiting cycle—finishing No. 28 per 247Sports—but don’t be fooled. Dabo Swinney and the Tigers are turning up the heat. Fast. They’ve kicked off their 2026 class with momentum, recently securing elite OL Leo Delaney and stacking up more than a dozen commitments already. Now sitting inside the Top 10 for 2026, Clemson’s getting loud again on the trail. But Swinney isn’t just thinking about next year—he’s thinking long-term. As in, 2027-long-term.

And that’s where things get spicy. Because while some coaches are focused on plugging gaps in the portal, Swinney’s doing the smart play. He’s eyeing his next quarterback even before Cade Klubnik’s final act is over. If that doesn’t scream future-proofing, nothing does.

On June 8th, Clemson insider Grayson Mann broke the news that’s got Tigers fans buzzing: “Clemson has offered 2027 four ⭐️ QB Peyton Houston, who threw at this morning’s [Sunday] session.”

Peyton Houston isn’t just another young quarterback. The 6-foot, 198-pound dual-threat phenom turned heads the moment he stepped onto the field at Evangel Christian in Shreveport. And now, he’s got more than 30 offers from powerhouses like USC, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU, and Florida. Clemson’s the first to pull the trigger from the ACC, but make no mistake—this is going to be a dogfight.

Why’s everyone so hyped about Houston? Easy. As a sophomore starter, he balled out. He completed 70% of his passes for a jaw-dropping 4,480 yards with 38 touchdowns to just six interceptions. And he also rushed for 690 yards and tacked on seven rushing scores for good measure.

According to Rivals, Houston sits as the No. 2 quarterback in the country, the No. 2 overall player in Louisiana, and No. 5 overall nationally for the 2027 class. And he’s only getting better. “Right now I’m working on tightening up my mechanics, getting a quicker release,” Houston told SI. “I always work on getting bigger, stronger, faster.”

Last month, Houston’s performance at Rivals camp in Dallas also turned heads—not just because he won MVP honors, but because of a small but telling detail: he was sporting a Georgia towel. The Bulldogs offered him last October, and while that piece of gear isn’t a commitment, it definitely sent a signal that Kirby Smart and company are in this race for real.

Then again, so is everyone else.

Houston has publicly shown interest in Brent Venables and Oklahoma, and with Lincoln Riley and USC aggressively chasing quarterbacks out West, this could turn into one of the most competitive QB races of the next cycle. Clemson’s early move matters—it puts them in the room before the crowd gets thicker. But the real battle will play out over the next 18 months, especially as Houston begins official visits in April 2026. Meanwhile….

Dabo Swinney is leading through change with conviction

While other programs are diving headfirst into the transfer portal and NIL arms race, Dabo Swinney remains steady in his ways—and recently, he got candid about it on the College GameDay Podcast. His key to long-term success? Adaptability and staying grounded in his values.

“I think to be a great leader you’ve got to be a lifelong learner,” Swinney said. “That’s just something that you do all the time. In fact someone was asking me about that in an earlier interview with coach (Bill Belichick) here, and I was like, ‘He’s been successful because he’s a lifelong learner.’ And I think we all are. If you’ve had any type of consistency you have to constantly learn and grow.”

Since taking over Clemson’s program in 2008, Swinney has built one of college football’s most consistent machines. Twelve straight 10-win seasons. Two national titles. A culture rooted in loyalty and trust. But he knows things are changing—and he’s not blind to it.

“I also think you’ve got to have some conviction,” he added. “And you can lead with conviction or you can lead with compromise. I think there’s two different ways to do it. And I believe what I believe. I don’t apologize for being me. And we’ve won consistently. But I think our purpose is exactly the same as it was 16 years ago. As a college football coach it hasn’t changed one bit. How you go about achieving the purpose, then those things change. Rules change, there’s lots of things that we can do now that 16 years ago they’d put you in jail for. Things evolve and I think you change.”

That balance—staying true to your core but still evolving—is exactly what Swinney is trying to model. Clemson might not be the flashiest NIL brand or the trendiest transfer portal stop, but it remains a destination for players who buy into long-term development and team-first culture. And Peyton Houston might just fit that mold. He’s not just racking up stats—he’s already talking about refining his mechanics, improving his release, and staying ahead of the curve. That mindset? That’s very Clemson.