For a long time, Dabo Swinney wouldn't even give the transfer portal a glance.
The long-time Clemson football coach was staunchly opposed to utilizing the portal because he saw what it did to the rest of the nation and he would say things like the guys on his roster were better than anyone he could get to transfer in.
It was obvious that his stubbornness was getting in the way of potentially increased success due to adequate portal usage. He was ignoring elite veteran players because "my guys are better".
Imagine just how good Clemson would have been since 2020 if Dabo had just hit the portal to address some key needs on both sides of the ball.