Dabo Swinney has a problem. A good problem to have, to be sure, but a problem nonetheless. Too many qualified players want to be Clemson Tigers.
Speaking at the Greenwood Prowl and Growl -- fantastic name -- Dabo Swinney explained that Clemson currently has 88 players on scholarship, three above the 85-man limit. Swinney also said he was about two-thirds of the way through his post-spring interviews with each Clemson scholarship player and walk-on, no scholarship player has indicated he plans to leave.
Clemson being over the scholarship limit is not an uncommon issue in FBS, especially at this time of year. Two recent developments are making it even more common.
First, the one-time exception of not counting the 2020 season against players' eligibility created an unprecedented traffic jam on the depth chart. Swinney said Clemson had seven seniors opt to return that he and his staff expected to leave. The 2020 effect will continue for a few more years before petering out: a true freshman in 2020 could have repeated his true freshman season in 2021, taken a redshirt in 2022, and play 2023 as a sophomore despite being in his third year on campus.
The second major change is the NCAA's removal of the 25-man initial counter limit. The rule was put into place in 2011 to eliminate over-signing, after Ole Miss infamously signed 37-players in 2009. However, recent events made the rule obsolete. The advent of the transfer portal saw many programs lose players at a greater rate than they were legally allowed to replace them, and so coaches argued the 25-man limit became a safety issue. The primary reason for Kansas's extreme downturn in the 2010s was that, coincided by poor coaching hires, the 25-man limit simply didn't allow the Jayhawks to overcome their attrition, and so KU played multiple seasons in a row without anywhere near 85 scholarship players. This 2015 story listed Kansas with 64 scholarship players, and in 2018 the Jayhawks were "hoping" to get to 70.
With free agency (the portal) rivaling the draft (signing day) in importance, the NCAA now simply requires FBS programs to be at 85 scholarships by the time training camp opens.
Which means that, if Clemson doesn't experience unexpected attrition over the next two months, three Tigers will have to give up their scholarships.
Swinney says they've handled the issue proactively, by explaining to each walk-on placed on scholarship that their new-found status is for that season and that season only.
"They all know. We tell them up front," Swinney told Tiger Net. "We can't guarantee you this next year but hopefully we will be able to keep you on... It is what it is. That's life as a walk-on."