Clemson football has quietly put together one of the most productive offseasons in the country — and ESPN has taken notice.
In a new set of rankings evaluating offseason performance across the Power 4 conferences, ESPN slotted Clemson at the top of the ACC and No. 5 nationally. The list takes into account player retention, staff continuity or upgrades, and roster additions through the transfer portal and recruiting.
“The Tigers lead the nation in returning production and potentially made an upgrade at defensive coordinator. That’s a pretty good offseason!” ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote. “The only thing holding them back here is a merely fine recruiting haul. It’s good that Swinney is using the transfer portal now, but he’s still only barely using it.”
Clemson was the only ACC program to crack the national top five, joining LSU (No. 1), Texas Tech, Penn State, and Oregon. Miami came in at No. 2 in the ACC and No. 8 overall, followed by Duke, Florida State, and Virginia to round out the top five in the league. Stanford landed in last among the 17 ACC teams.
Several of Clemson’s 2025 opponents earned spots in the ACC’s offseason rankings as well: Louisville (No. 6), Georgia Tech (No. 7), SMU (No. 8), North Carolina (No. 12), Boston College (No. 13), and Syracuse (No. 14). Florida State and Duke also appear on Clemson’s 2025 slate.
ESPN credited head coach Dabo Swinney for adjusting his approach in key areas, most notably with staff and portal usage.
“Coach Dabo Swinney’s aversion to transfers often made Clemson an unlikely candidate for a top offseason,” Connelly wrote. “But this winter, Swinney went to the portal for defensive end Will Heldt and others. Clemson also kept quarterback Cade Klubnik, talented defensive linemen T.J. Parker and Peter Woods and a dynamic group of receivers from the…
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Publish date : 2025-05-22 14:36:00
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