Dabo Swinney didn’t leave much room for interpretation when Clemson was asked whether the program might use the recent NCAA court ruling to bring in extra help.
“No,” he said on Thursday. “Our roster’s set.”
That was the Clemson coach’s blunt answer as the Tigers settled into fall camp a week after a Colorado judge’s ruling in Wisne v. NCAA opened the door for hundreds of Class of 2022 athletes, including football players, to pursue a fifth year of eligibility.
The lawsuit was one of several filed by former Class of 2022 athletes who argued they had been left out of the NCAA’s new “5 for 5” eligibility system. In that case, the judge granted class action certification and a preliminary injunction that makes all Class of 2022 athletes whose eligibility had expired eligible for a fifth year, with minor exceptions.
Some programs have already moved on it. Reigning national champion Indiana football has added three players for a fifth year, and Arizona basketball picked up former Clemson forward RJ Godfrey. South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer said Thursday there had been “some discussions” about the ruling’s impact, though nothing was close.
Clemson, though, doesn’t appear interested in joining that group. Swinney said he does not expect the Tigers to use the ruling to bring back former players whose eligibility has expired, and he also doesn’t plan to chase newly available names in the transfer portal, which remains a murkier path.
The timing matters, too. Clemson opens the season on Saturday, Sept. 5 at LSU, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
“I mean, we’re getting ready to play in 30 days,” Swinney said. “Ain’t nobody coming in here to save us.
We’ve got what we’ve got. We’ve gotta get ready.”
There’s also a practical reason Clemson may not have much to work with under the ruling. The judge in Wisne has said the injunction only applies to a narrow group: NCAA athletes who started competition in the 2022-23 athletic year, finished four years of eligibility in the 2025-26 athletic year and are now blocked from a fifth season in 2026-27 under NCAA rules.
Clemson football had just five players who enrolled in 2022 and played four years without redshirting, and all five are now on NFL rosters.
Senior quarterback Cade Klubnik, offensive tackle Blake Miller, linebacker Wade Woodaz and running back Adam Randall were all drafted in April and signed NFL rookie contracts with the Jets, Lions, Texans and Ravens, respectively. Senior cornerback Jeadyn Lukus went undrafted, signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent and has since joined the Browns after being waived by Tennessee, a sign he still has enough NFL buzz to stick around at least as a practice squad type this year.
Clemson could still look at fifth-year players from other schools, but that path comes with complications. Even after the Colorado decision, there are still questions about whether players who did not already enter the transfer portal during the NCAA’s designated windows would be allowed to play elsewhere in 2026.
The ruling could still matter for other Clemson sports, including men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball. For Clemson football, though, Swinney said the focus stays on the players already in the building.
“These guys have really bought in to how we do thing here at Clemson,” Swinney said. “I’m really proud of them. Look forward to getting on the field.”
In Other News...
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Coach Dawn Staley said the program continues to support Maddy McDaniel and her family, while the roster now has to absorb the blow and sort out the next steps. With McDaniel no longer in the picture, South Carolina will look to other guards to handle point guard duties, adding another layer of uncertainty to a position that was supposed to be settled. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger concern is that the foundation underneath that phase of the game is still being sorted out in preseason. The kicking and snapping jobs are both up for grabs, and newcomer Malik Orsan is among the players in the mix for the field goal job as South Carolina tries to settle on the combination that can keep the special teams edge intact. [Read more 🡒]