Dabo Swinney Discusses Transfer, Announces Plans for Another Addition

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is not known for relying on the transfer portal to fill out his roster, but with depth concerns, he made a rare move this week by adding wide receiver Tristan Smith. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Smith, who earned second-team 2024 Big South-OVC all-conference honors at Southeast Missouri State after recording 76 catches for 934 yards and six touchdowns, officially joined the Tigers on Wednesday.

While this may seem like Clemson's first portal transfer to many, Swinney was quick to remind the media otherwise.

"I know everybody makes a big deal. We've signed a kid out of the portal, now, three out of the last four years. So it's not really where we live, but when we have a need, and we can't address it through the high school. We fill our need." Swinney said Wednesday. 

Indeed, Clemson's previous transfer additions were graduate quarterbacks Hunter Johnson (2022), who originally signed with Clemson in 2017 and transferred to Northwestern in 2018, and Paul Tyson (2023), formerly of Alabama and Arizona State, both serving as emergency depth options. Tyson is currently listed on the roster as a student coach/quarterback. Swinney explained the difference with Smith's signing.

"We did that with Hunter. We did that with Paul. That was a need. And then we didn't have a need last year, and then this year, we didn't have any intention," he said.

The situation changed after two wide receivers, Troy Stellato and Noble Johnson, entered the portal following the regular season. Stellato, a redshirt junior, started 11 games of 23 career games, while Johnson, a redshirt freshman, had three career receptions.

"We really weren't looking for a guy, and we had two depth guys that moved on, and so we needed to get a guy," Swinney explained. "I really like our guys that are in the room, but we've got to have some depth, and we needed to find a receiver. So, obviously, the high school part was over. There really wasn't anybody else out there that we felt like we could go get, so that's really it."

Smith’s signing may not be the last transfer addition for the Tigers this offseason. Swinney revealed that the program is actively searching for a defensive end following the August decommitment from Bryce Davis, a 2025 four-star and top-100 national prospect who flipped to Duke.

“If he had not decommitted, we’d be done," stated Swinney, referring to Davis's decommitment. "But we had a kid decommit, and we needed to go get a guy. So, we have been kind of tracking some guys at that position and need to try to find one player there to fill our need.”

The Tigers have reportedly extended an offer to Purdue transfer Will Heldt, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound native of Carmel, Indiana. The sophomore visited Clemson this week and had scheduled stops at LSU and Texas A&M. Heldt is coming off of a productive season with 54 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and five sacks in 11 games. 

Heldt has yet to announce a commitment date, so Swinney offered no details on his recruitment, but he expressed satisfaction and excitement with the addition of Smith. "We looked at a bunch of guys, and we were looking for something very specific, and Tristan fit that," noted Swinney. "[I'm] really excited about him. I think he's still got his best football in front of him. I like the length that he brings. That's really what we wanted. We really wanted a long guy."

Smith will be immediately available to play in 2025.