The portal is going to bleed us dry after this year.

Sep 14, 2025, 12:08 AM

I'm not going to bury the lede here. Dabo is an overpaid hype man, and there is no hardware to prove otherwise since Trevor left.

This may be all well and fine for Clemson fans, who recognize where Dabo has brought us, even if the engine has stalled. While perhaps it's more faith than science, we still think (hope?) there is gas in the tank. Thusly, we will indulge him year-over-year, even if the "Cade is a Heisman candidate" and "this is the best team since 2018" has grown stale without the wins or energy to back it up.

That's not the case for players.

You can bet the house that a key part of our recruiting is the promises of playing in the playoffs, a shot at the natty, national prime time TV slots, and an environment that will get you into the next level.

You think that's the vibe in the locker room still, if players are being honest with themselves? And, how much does the luster on all those big promises really shine if they're being coached-up by Dabo's "Special Little Projects" as everything else rings hollow.

Fact is the hypeman's bullshit is now overpowering the roses, and we are going to get absolutely raided by the portal in the offseason because of it. It's not just the lure of NIL money either. It's going to be other programs have put up the numbers, and we haven't. And, there's nothing more that Dabo can or will offer to keep them buying into a pipe dream.

Bottom line is Dabo loves to win, but he forgot how to hate losing. Program went soft. Zero energy. Zero accountability. This may be our best, but it's substandard.

And, Dabo owns it all.