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Dabo Swinney blasts House settlement, impact on roster limits: 'It's terrible'

Matt Connollyby:Matt Connolly•11/19/24•

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There are currently 136 players on the Clemson football roster. That number is set to significantly shrink for the 2025 season. The House vs. NCAA settlement was preliminarily approved last month.

The settlement is set to cap the roster limit for scholarship players for FBS football teams at 105, meaning that Clemson and most other programs will have to cut players.

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Dabo Swinney voiced his frustration with the House settlement and having to cut players during his press conference on Tuesday.

“Obviously we have to cut a lot of guys this year. It’s terrible,” Dabo Swinney said. “It’s the worst thing in my whole coaching career and what’s going on. But we’ve gotta cut a bunch of kids that have been in our program.”

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Dabo Swinney got his start in college football as a walk-on at Alabama, and he has regularly preached throughout his coaching career that walk-ons are a vital part of teams. Walk-ons benefit teams and can help change lives, according to Swinney, and he is clearly frustrated by the roster limit moving to 105.

Several players who will not be allowed to return to Clemson for the 2025 season will be honored at Senior Day on Saturday ahead of Clemson’s game against The Citadel.

“I’ve given all of them an option, if they are in their fourth year, then they have the option to be honored as a senior. They’ve earned that,” Dabo Swinney said. “Some of these kids would be back for their fifth year next year and they’re not going to have the opportunity to do that. And that’s sad, but that’s the way it is.

“So we’ve given them an opportunity. Those kids that if you’re graduating in December or May, you can be honored as a senior if you want to. … We’ve got a lot of walk-on guys that know that this is going to be their last opportunity and they deserve it.”

Other Clemson players who will be honored on Senior Day include those who are out of eligibility after the 2024 season and those who may be turning pro after this year who have already graduated or will be doing so soon.