Swinney, Stoops lament trickle-down effects of transfer portal - ESPN

In a media session previewing their date in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and Kentucky coach Mark Stoops lamented the challenge of roster management this time of year.

Stoops said his QB position is particularly thin after several recent transfer portal entries, while Swinney said he may need to suit up and play cornerback himself against Kentucky.

Still, Swinney stopped short of placing the blame for roster shortages on NIL or the portal, instead suggesting that tampering by a number of other programs is at the heart of the problem.

«The problem is tampering,» Swinney said, with Stoops nodding in agreement. «And we could fix it easily if they'd let football people fix it. But they usually don't listen to us.»

Swinney implied stiffer sanctions and penalties for coaches and programs tampering outside designated transfer windows would dramatically reduce concerns, but echoing a frequent complaint from coaches, he said he doesn't believe the NCAA is interested in following the lead of head coaches.

Both coaches said they spent the days immediately following the end of the regular-season meeting with their own teams, «just getting a pulse of where everything is at,» Stoops said.

«Rosters are not the same because of the portal, because of the trend of guys not playing, and you can get in a bad spot pretty quick,» Swinney said.

Since the end of the regular season, Clemson has seen eight players enter the portal, including starting safety Andrew Mukuba and former five-star corner Toriano Pride Jr. Clemson will also be without linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., corner Nate Wiggins and defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro, who all plan to enter the NFL draft.

Swinney, who is on the road recruiting, said he has a