Father of DJ Uiagalelei responds to Dabo Swinney, stance on NIL, transfer portal
Dabo Swinney’s stance against using the transfer portal and NIL have come under fire after Clemson’s 28-7 loss to Duke on Monday. Swinney hasn’t used the portal much over the last couple years, and his thoughts about NIL’s role in college football has been well-documented.
In response to commentary from Late Kick’s Josh Pate, the father of former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has weighed in.
Dave Uiagelelei took to social media and criticized Swinney for his philosophy on using the portal as well as his thoughts on NIL. DJ, of course, transferred to Oregon State after last season’s struggles at quarterback.
“I get it, YOUR [sic] against the portal, and you dislike NIL. But that’s you and how you feel. Your obligation is to the athletes and what best fits the success of the program,” Uiaglelei wrote, along with three “emphasis” emojis.
During the 2022 cycle, Clemson brought in one player from the portal — quarterback Hunter Johnson, who started his career with the Tigers before transferring to Northwestern. This past year, Swinney and the staff brought in another quarterback in former Arizona State signal-caller Paul Tyson. All the while, Clemson lost 33 players combined to the portal during those two cycles, including Uiagalelei after last year.
That goes into Pate’s thoughts which elicited the response from Dave Uiagalelei. He spoke at length Swinney’s decision to stick with “traditional” philosophies and focus on high school recruiting rather than bolster the roster with transfers.
In the adapt-or-die world of college sports, Swinney appears to be at a crossroads in his career — especially with a team that has embraced the portal in Florida State coming to town soon.
“Either Dabo Swinney’s about to dive headfirst into the transfer portal or Dabo Swinney’s going to retire, Dabo Swinney’s going to leave the profession,” Pate said on Late Kick. “I believe that he detests the direction the sport’s going. It’s all about adapting. And I think he knows that. I don’t think he’s blind to what’s happening.
“If he doesn’t know it, he’s going to learn it in a few weeks from Florida State comes to town. Because that’s a place, that’s a program, that’s a man in Mike Norvell that’s looked at a method of talent acquisition and he said, ‘If it’s afforded to us, not only am I going to dabble in it, I’m going to embrace it. It’s my duty to my team or it’s a dereliction of duty to my team if I don’t do it.’ And that’s what Dabo Swinney’s guilty of right now.”
The biggest example of an instant-impact transfer at FSU is Keon Coleman. The former Michigan State wide receiver had an incredible debut on Sunday against LSU, totaling 122 yards and three touchdowns to propel the Seminoles to the 45-24 victory.
Considering Clemson’s dominance over the last decade, including two national championships, it’s worth wondering now if Swinney and the Tigers can now keep pace if they don’t embrace the portal.
“This is the thing about it. I’m not claiming Dabo Swinney’s ever going to like it, okay?” Pate said. “We’ve all got stuff in our line of work that we have to hold our nose and do sometimes. It’s not all roses. Like, you don’t always get the smooth path. It’s bumpy sometimes.
“And if you don’t believe in it, if it truly is a violation of your value system or your principles, I’m not going to do like everyone else. I’m not going to make fun of you for that. I’m not going to bang on you or hate on you for that. But you’re going to have to get out of the line of work you’re in because that’s the direction it’s going. You don’t have to like it. I don’t have to like it. But you need to acknowledge it.”