ESPN ranks Clemson football with Top 5 offseason

Top defensive transfer Will Heldt contributes to a strong offseason for Clemson.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Tuesday, May 13 2025

You win championships when the stadium is empty, a wise man once said in a Clemson football video.

While ESPN isn't in every corner of college football to judge how teams are preparing months away from the games, they did attempt to rank Top 10 offseasons and each Power 4 team by conference, where Clemson paced the ACC and ranked No. 5 overall.

They focused the ranking on three areas, where Clemson did well in: -Retention of key (non-draft-eligible) players

-Retention of key coaches or staff upgrades

-Player additions, primarily through the transfer portal but also high school recruits

"Coach Dabo Swinney's aversion to transfers often made Clemson an unlikely candidate for a top offseason. But this winter, Swinney went to the portal for defensive end Will Heldt and others. Clemson also kept quarterback Cade Klubnik, talented defensive linemen T.J. Parker and Peter Woods and a dynamic group of receivers from the ACC championship team. He also upgraded the defensive staff with coordinator Tom Allen," said ESPN. "The Tigers lead the nation in returning production and potentially made an upgrade at defensive coordinator. That's a pretty good offseason! The only thing holding them back here is a merely fine recruiting haul. It's good that Swinney is using the transfer portal now, but he's still only barely using it."

The top offseason goes to Clemson's first opponent, LSU.

"A combination of player/staff retention and some much-needed portal upgrades puts coach Brian Kelly's team in the top spot. The Tigers get quarterback Garrett Nussmeier for another year, brought back linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. from injury and addressed key positions through the portal, including wide receiver, safety and both lines," said the outlet.

No other scheduled Tiger opponents made the Top 10, but possible ACC Championship Game foe Miami did, at No. 8.

"The Hurricanes' inclusion here will undoubtedly trigger some eye rolls, but Miami continues to thrive in the offseason. Quarterback Carson Beck could be one of the best portal pickups, and Miami also added notable transfers at wide receiver, defensive back and offensive line. The team retained offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and made a strong defensive coordinator hire in Corey Hetherman," said ESPN.

Within the league offseason rankings, Clemson scheduled ACC opponents checked in at No. 3 (Duke), 4 (FSU), 6 (Louisville), 7 (Georgia Tech), 8 (SMU), 12 (UNC), 13 (BC) and 14 (Syracuse).

Clemson's other Power 4 non-conference opponent South Carolina ranked 10th in the SEC.

"Beamer did his best to offset some mammoth losses on defense with portal newcomers, but experience levels definitely seem to be down on that side of the ball. That will put a lot of pressure on Sellers and a rebuilt offensive line to carry the load, but Sellers might be capable of doing just that," ESPN's Bill Connelly said.