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Dabo Swinney has been the anti-portal head coach during the new era of the transfer portal. At least, he has to this point.
That could be changing though. The Clemson head coach, who has never taken a scholarship defensive player from the transfer portal, will be hosting Purdue transfer edge rusher Will Heldt on a visit in the coming days, his agents from Grand Central Sports told ESPN on Thursday night.
The sophomore will have 2 years of eligibility remaining, whether that’s at Clemson or wherever he ends up resuming his collegiate career.
Heldt was a standout player on defense for the struggling Boilermakers during the 2024 season. He piled up 56 total tackles, 37 of them solo, had 5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Last season as a freshman, Heldt had 12 tackles, 8 of them solo.
As ESPN’s Pete Thamel noted on Thursday, Clemson has yet to take a defensive player from the portal, but a few offensive players have transferred there. Those players never made an impact though. Two of those offensive players, Hunter Johnson and Paul Tyson, wound up being backup quarterbacks while wide receiver Blackmon Huckabee only played in 3 games for the Tigers.
Perhaps this is the signal of a new defensive philosophy for Swinney after years of ignoring the portal when it comes to defense. Or it could be that Heldt could be that much of an impact player for the Tigers in 2025 and even Swinney believes he’s well worth a visit. Time will tell which one it is.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
