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Clemson football has lost 62 players to transfer portal. Dabo Swinney really wanted to keep these two
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- Clemson football has lost 62 players to transfer portal. Dabo Swinney really wanted to keep these two
CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney has touted Clemson football 's retention rate in the transfer portal , but there are two contributors who departed that he misses.
In an April 23 ESPN article , Swinney said he "genuinely wanted to keep" safety Andrew Mukuba and defensive end A.J. Hoffler . Mukuba transferred to Texas in December 2023 after being a three-year starter with Clemson , saying he needed a restart and better development. Hoffler entered the portal on Dec. 26 after two seasons with the Tigers and committed to Georgia Tech .
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Clemson has lost 62 players since the portal was launched in 2018, including former starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon State), wide receiver Beaux Collins (Notre Dame), linebacker Mike Jones Jr. ( LSU ), cornerback Derion Kendrick (Georgia).
Still, Mukuba and Hoffler are the two players Swinney really wanted to finish their college careers at Clemson.
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Mukuba is entering the 2025 NFL Draft after recording five interceptions and seven pass deflections with Texas last season. He faced his former team in the first round of the College Football Playoff last year and recorded three tackles and one pass deflection.
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Hoffler did not record a start among his 21 games with Clemson, logging 16 tackles and one pass deflection in his limited snaps. He was one of the five players who exited in the portal in December . Clemson has also lost one scholarship player in the spring portal : cornerback Tavoy Feagin.
The Tigers welcomed their largest transfer class in the winter, adding wide receiver Tristan Smith , defensive end Will Heldt and linebacker Jeremiah Alexander.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: Dabo Swinney wanted to keep these 2 players from portal
