17 years, 2 national titles, and the fulfillment of a promise to make Clemson a household name across America. The time for Dabo Swinney at Clemson has truly been breathtaking. But, is the current Clemson team the same powerhouse that won the national championships in 2016 or 2018? Has Dabo Swinney finally mastered that NIL world and transfer portal rumblings? If you ask a former Jaguar legend and an ex-NFL pro, the answer is a resounding yes!!

We have been here already at the start of the 2018 season. Clemson couldn’t make it to the playoffs in 2017 as Syracuse handed them a massive upset. Still, despite the snub, Clemson came back strong the next time and delivered finally. And at the end of it, it was a true showing of an impeccable team effort. Why? The team finished undefeated and beat Alabama 44-16 in the national championship. The next morning, a headline in ESPN’s article read, “Clemson crushes Alabama to win 2019 national championship.” And this year, the same promise is looking to be re-lived again.

On July 5th, George Wrighster had a conversation with Samuel Recker in his podcast and explained why Clemson is the favorite to win the national championship. And for him, it all has to do with the team that Clemson is bringing back for the 2025 season.

“He’s got, in my estimation, the best-returning quarterback in college football in Cade Klubnik. He has two of the top seven wide receivers in the country. He has the best defensive line in the country. Their defense is always good. They’ve got good corners as well. Their offensive line should be very good as well. And they are phenomenally coached. Their defensive coordinator, Tom Allen, is really good,” said Wrighster.

Clemson is bringing back their stalwart QB, Cade Klubnik, who is already one of the favorites to win the Heisman. Why? The guy is coming after a 3,639-yard season with 36 touchdowns and is expected to improve this year massively. Talk about covering all three levels of the football field, and Klubnik is already a master of that. But not just the QB room, Clemson truly has some of the best wide receivers in college football.

The Tigers are bringing back Bryant Wesco Jr, who delivered 708 receiving yards last season. Then there is Antonio Williams, who lit up those fields and averaged 14.4 yards per reception and notched up 904 yards. As for the offensive line? The team is returning with most of their last year’s starters. These include Ryan Linthicium and Walker Parks, both of whom started all 14 games last year. And guess what? All of this Dabo Swinney has done without much help from the NIL and transfer portal.

Clemson and Dabo Swinney set to rewrite how CFB works

With Clemson bringing back 81% of the 2024 production, the chances for them to win were already high. Analysts like Josh Pate were riding the hope bogey quite early and predicted the Tigers to win the natty. But all of this didn’t happen overnight. It was a meticulous effort of Dabo Swinney’s focus on relationships over prioritizing NIL and the ‘family’ atmosphere that Clemson boasts. So, if Dabo Swinney wins now, it will show how college football is perceived in the current era.

“They have everything that you could possibly need to win a national championship and a national championship coach. And if he wins this year, he is going to change college football. He’s going to change how people look at the transfer portal, how they look at NIL, how they look at their roster building, and everything else because there are no shortcuts,” said Wrighster.

Going back to the 2022 class, when Dabo Swinney personally recruited Cade Klubnik, they had just one incoming transfer. Next year, too, they again had just one incoming transfer, and the year after that, in 2024, they had zero transfers. Yes, you heard that right, “zero” was the number. Moreover, coming into the 2025 class again, just 3 transfers have arrived. If Dabo Swinney wins in the portal era, surely it would be the dawn of a new beginning, with him ushering it in.