The Clemson Tigers have landed a major commitment in the transfer portal.
Dabo Swinny and the Clemson Tigers have struck big in the transfer portal, landing former California Golden Bears linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
The news was initially reported by Hayes Fawcett of On 3.
Ferrelli is a three-star transfer and was the 35th-ranked linebacker in the portal, via 247 Sports. However, that feels like an awfully low ranking based on his production.
As a freshman at California in 2025, Ferrelli racked up 91 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack and an interception.
The former three-star recruit originally committed to Stanford in June 2023, but backed out and committed to California six months later.
Now, Ferrelli is changing his status yet again.
This is a huge pickup for Clemson following Wade Woodaz's decision to enter the NFL Draft. The Tigers definitely have some significant needs defensively this offseason thanks to a mass exodus of a bunch of their top players, and Ferrelli is a nice piece of the puzzle.
In addition to Woodaz, Clemson is losing defensive tackles Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart, cornerback Avieon Terrell and edge rusher T.J. Parker to the NFL Draft. Not only that, but safety Ricardo Jones — who broke out with six picks in 2025 — entered the transfer portal.
Luke Ferrelli. Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images.And that's just on the defensive side of the ball.
Offensively, the Tigers are losing quarterback Cade Klubnik, running back Adam Randall and wide receiver Antonio Williams to the draft.
Swinney has never been one to utilize the transfer portal, but after Clemson went just 7-6 in an incredibly disappointing 2025 campaign, he is left with no choice.
The Tigers entered this past season with national championship expectations, but got off to a 1-3 start and were never able to recover.
It marked Clemson's worst finish since it went 6-7 in 2010, which was only Swinney's second year with the program.
Swinney is under significant pressure to improve the team in the years to come. He is not on the hot seat just yet, but fans are getting frustrated, so if the Tigers have another rough season in 2026, questions about his job security may begin to surface.
Clemson made four National Championship Game appearances between 2015 and 2019, winning a pair of titles during that span. The Tigers have certainly fallen far since then.