Oct. 20—CLEMSON — "It's not the X's and the O's but the Jimmys and the Joes."
The long-used phrase regarding recruiting vs. coaching doesn't have an exact origin but is often credited to former Texas coach Darrell Royal. Whoever said it first, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney seems to agree. He shrugged off suggestions at his Oct. 20 press conference that Clemson would or should adjust its scheme against Virginia Tech simply because Hokies coach James Franklin once employed Clemson DC Tom Allen at Penn State — arguing that the players mattered more.
"It's still about the players. I mean, players got to play. Teams know each other and stuff like that. Coaches know each other," he said. "But you know, you still got to execute plays."
It's an interesting philosophy when you consider some of the criticism of Swinney and Clemson halfway through the 2026 season. Many have questioned Clemson's roster construction coming off of a 7-6 record in 2025 and losing nine players in the NFL draft, including starting quarterback Cade Klubnik.
Clemson didn't bring in a transfer QB to compete alongside senior Christopher Vizzina and freshman starter Tait Reynolds — one of the main talking points entering the season.
Swinney went viral for his response to a question about roster construction after the Tigers' Week 1 loss to then-No. 11 LSU, which has since dropped to No. 18 with a 5-2 (2-2 SEC) record.
"We've played one game. One game. Did you play football?" he said. "OK, well, they give you 12 games, and at the end of the year, you count them up. That's when those type of questions are fair, to me. Not after one game to maybe the best team in the country."
Swinney and offensive line coach Matt Luke were later questioned about Clemson's OL recruiting efforts this offseason. Clemson's front five ranks 111th in the nation for sacks allowed and 127th in tackles for loss allowed out of 138 Division I FBS programs. Both revealed Clemson looked at a handful of linemen in the portal but didn't get any — and ultimately decided what it had should be enough to get the job done.
The topic came up again on Swinney's weekly radio hour on 105.5-FM during his Oct. 19 segment. A fan started by complimenting Swinney and Clemson's recruitment of defensive backs Elliott Washington II, Jerome Carter III, Corey Myrick and Donovan Starr all in one offseason. All four are contributing to a pass defense that's been a bright spot for the Tigers this season.
Then, the text-in submission got a little backhanded.
"Do you go hard in that direction again next year?"
It's not the first time Swinney had been asked the question, and for good reason: If Clemson's small-but-increased portal efforts this offseason — bringing in more transfers this summer (11) than each year since the portal was invented combined — were so successful, why not go all in on the portal?
Swinney's answer was clear on his philosophy.
"As long as I'm the head coach, we'll always be a developmental team, and then we'll use the portal to fill the gaps."
It's not the answer that a segment of Clemson fans, which believe the Tigers have regressed since the late 2010s because of Clemson's aversion to the portal, were hoping to hear.
Swinney added some clarification at his Monday press conference.
"Whoever we bring in here, we got to get them better. We got to develop them," he said. "Sign a high school kid, sign a portal kid ... As long as we can recruit the best high school kids that we think are guys, that's where it starts. Then you kind of fill it in with portal guys as you go along."
The issue is, Clemson's high school recruiting has regressed in recent years. According to 247Sports, Clemson's 2020 recruiting class ranked No. 3 in the nation. The year after it was No. 5, then No. 14 in 2022, No. 15 in 2023 and 2024, No. 31 in 2025 and No. 21 in 2026.
Clemson is currently on track to improve to No. 14 with its 2027 class, but the numbers show a clear regression since the 2020s began.
Meanwhile, even the teams that have consistently recruited higher-ranked high school classes are also bringing in more transfers. Entering the 2025 season, Miami brought in the 15th-ranked high school class, 16 spots higher than Clemson. It also brought in 19 transfers, many of whom contributed immediately to a Hurricanes team that finished as the national championship runner-up.
Miami continues to show the effectiveness of increased portal recruiting combined with elite high school talent, combining Duke transfer QB Darian Mensah with homegrown receiver Malachi Toney, which have led the Hurricanes to an undefeated record, a No. 1 overall ranking and a 41-13 win over Clemson on Oct. 3.
Swinney pushed back on the idea that teams like Miami are having more success because it "buys" its roster every season.
"Ain't no players coming here for free," he said. "They don't go anywhere for free."
But it's clear, based on on-field results and recruiting rankings, that Miami and other top teams are doing something Clemson has missed over the last few seasons. It could be as simple as dollars: The Athletic reports Miami spent $44 million to $50 million on its 2026 roster, near the top of all programs. Clemson spent $29 million to $32 million, still near the top and second in the ACC among reported budgets, but still a bit behind the top spenders.
Swinney again said he can't focus on who's spending what.
"We spend what we got. Can't spend more than you got," he said. "We maximize our resources. We gotta play better, we gotta coach better, we gotta do a lot better."
The 18-year coach is probably correct about the usefulness of comparisons. Georgia, which would still be No. 1 in the country and undefeated if not for a stunning loss to Auburn on Oct. 17, reportedly spent only $2 million to $5 million more on its roster than Clemson.
But again, Georgia recruited the ninth-best high school class and still brought in nine highly-rated transfers, including former Clemson linebacker Khalil Barnes, this offseason.
Clemson and Swinney seem firm on continuing to commit to high school recruiting and development while using the portal as a resource, but not the source. Even in the portal, Clemson still focuses on underclassmen like Starr and London Merritt over upperclassmen, plug-and-play assets.
Will it continue to be a possible reason for Clemson's perceived decline or will it one day straighten itself out?
"I don't really care what people say. I really don't," Swinney said. "I'm gonna do my best every single day to do what I think is the best for Clemson to have a great program — not just a great year, a great program — and that's what we have."
Next Game
What: Clemson (4-2, 2-1 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech (5-2, 2-2)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson
TV: ESPN
Reach Jackson Castellano at jcastellano@postandcourier.com. Follow him on X @jaxacastellano.