After steering clear of transfers for the past 4 seasons, Dabo Swinney has finally entered the portal era with the addition of 2 veteran free agents.

In the wake of Clemson's playoff loss to Texas, the Tigers have the perfect blueprint right in front of them to finally dip their toes into this newfangled transfer portal of sorts. What Texas does could easily be replicated in Clemson for Dabo Swinney.

Part of it came from a place of reflection — no one expected Clemson to sneak into the first 12-team Playoff as a 12 seed after the Tigers lost to rival South Carolina, their third loss of the regular season, before they squeezed into the ACC title game and won it. On Saturday, Clemson fought until the end on the road against No. 5 Texas.