Fair points. I didn't intend to insinuate the Bowden created Clemsons culture. I started at Clemson at the end of Bowdens run, obviously parting ways was best. As for how much a Clemson offer means, let's disect that. As a proud Alumni it means a ton to me. As a high school recruit with no ties to the University, it means less. If we continue on a course of mediocrity that offers non monetary value will only continue to diminish. The prestige of a Clemson offer declines with each season we underperform. Add in the fact we a a founding member of a conference we are currently trying to leave, while being at a significant financial disadvantage and the cards are no longer in our favor. Additionally, we are a smaller public university with a smaller alumni footprint. I love my Alma Mater, but if I was a recruit being offered life altering money, love may no longer outweigh business. Like it or not Clemson football is the engine that drives our entire athletic department (and in many ways Campus life as a whole.) Dabos method only works as long as the results as up to par. Continuing to lose 3-4 games a year is not going to cut it. Maybe I'm wrong, heck, I hope I'm wrong. Artificially limiting the program to a set of rules nobody else is playing by is hurting the program.

This post is inaccurate on so many levels. Tommy Bowden did not create a winning culture at Clemson. Dabo Swinney corrected that. Dabo recruits better than Tommy Bowden and 99% of the active coaches in college football currently.

I think some people are assuming that if Dabo doesn't use the portal that we will not be a national title contender anymore. That's categorically false because Dabo is hiring the right staff and recruiting the right players from high school. The portal isn't necessarily required at this point.

Sure, we could have burned a scholarship on a player that is only looking for a quick payout from a NIL package, but Dabo has built a culture that is not consistent with that scheme nor is it compatible. In fact, it is contradictory to what Dabo and CLEMSON stands for.

Other coaches over sign classes, send out hundreds of offers if not more, and Dabo Swinney only sends out offers for who he needs. Then there are target recruits that Dabo wants and Clemson ends up with about 85% of the target offers even in the down seasons. If that is the case, then why use the portal and burn a scholarship on a young man who will only be on the team for a season?

The sport of college football is in the beginning stages of NIL and transfer portal madness. Things may seem great in this honeymoon phase right now, but when the system begins to collapse many of these programs are going to face irreparable damage to their future. Dabo won't have to change a thing because we didn't adapt to paying players in the portal to come and play for one year at Clemson. Any player worth recruiting from the portal comes with an expensive NIL price tag. I would much rather offer NIL money to a player who is ALL-IN 110% and worthy to touch Howard's Rock.

Wait until players begin suing schools because they didn't get what they were promised by a coach. Oh wait, that is already happening to Billy Napier at Florida. Wait until you see players sit out games because they didn't get what they demanded. Oh wait, that is already happening at Florida State. A team where more than 70% of the starters from last year were recruited from the portal and paid healthy sums of money to play at Florida State. They have zero loyalty to the program and whenever the cards were down, they rolled over on the team, the school, and the fans. Wait until envy and jealousy creates division in the locker room. Oh wait, that's already happening at Colorado with Coach Prime. It's a big reason why their season collapsed after winning 4 games. Wait until a school spends millions of dollars recruiting more than 10 5* recruits and lose so many games that the head coach is fired. Oh wait, that's already happened at Texas A&M.

Loyalty means everything in this world and if a player isn't loyal to Clemson, then I don't want his filthy hands on Howard's Rock. It's quite that simple. If we have to pay a player to come to Clemson, then good riddance and good luck. If a player wants to come to Clemson and EARN NIL money, then I am all for it. Most of these players in the portal haven't proven anything to cost $700,000 or in some cases $1.3MM. It just isn't worth the investment. What is worth the investment is recruiting a player from high school, building a relationship, developing that player to not only be a great player on the field, but a solid member of society whenever he leaves Clemson with a degree.

AN OFFER FROM CLEMSON.... IT JUST MEANS MORE. GO TIGERS!

I'm a proud Alumni, I'll always support my Tigers. However, that doesn't mean that settling for belowe "best is the standard" is the way forward. If we return to title competition I'll gladly eat crow, but the current trajectory says otherwise. Sports like it or not are meant to produce a winner and a loser. Life lessons and character need and should be emphasized. Striving for victory shoukd be as well. Embracing the NIL and transfer portal does not make the program nor Dabo immoral.