One of Dabo Swinney’s favorite Dabo-isms is “The best is yet to come.”

Clemson’s head coach said that following the Tigers’ 44-16 win over Alabama on January 7, 2019. It was the culmination of Clemson’s third national championship, which saw them become the first team in major college football to go 15-0.

I remember saying to myself after Swinney said it, “Has he lost his mind?”

How in the world can you top going 15-0 and winning a national championship? You can’t, or at least that is what I thought.

In Swinney’s case, it’s how he is going about doing things this off-season. Not in the sense that he has changed the way he does things or any of that stuff. He still has the same culture and still believes in the way he runs his program.

However, Swinney has been aggressive this off-season. It’s been a while since he has been this aggressive.

The first thing he did was go to the transfer portal and bring in wide receiver Tristan Smith and defensive end Will Heldt. Actually, he did that before the season was even over.

The news of Swinney going to the portal and pulling out two very productive players caught the nation’s attention. Clemson has been known for not going to the portal, as ESPN loved to show the graphic where Clemson was the lone FBS team, not named Army, Navy or Air Force, to not sign a player from the transfer portal in 2023.

Following the Tigers’ exit from the College Football Playoff, Swinney continued to be aggressive. With the help of IPTAY and the 110 Society Clemson was able to retain its star players, including quarterback Cade Klubnik, wide receiver Antonio Williams, left tackle Blake Miller, defensive end T.J. Parker, defensive Peter Woods and many more.

The Tigers did lose reserve players like wide receiver Troy Stellato, safety Sherrod Covil, defensive end A.J. Hoffler and defensive tackle Tre Wiliams to the portal, as well as couple of others. And though those players will be missed, Clemson will move on just fine without them.

However, look at what Clemson is bringing back, and then look at what Swinney did today, signing former Alabama 5-star linebacker Jeremiah Alexander. Again, from the transfer portal.

The moves have Clemson fans excited, as they should be.

Now Swinney is looking for a new defensive coordinator. I suspect he will make a splash here, too. He has been doing it now for over and month, so why shouldn’t we expect another big-time move.

I guess Swinney was right all along. The best is yet to come for Clemson Football.