When Scott Pagano told Dabo Swinney of his decision to transfer last week, it meant he was the fourth player to leave the program due to transfer since Clemson returned home from winning the national championship on Jan. 9.

Pagano and Swinney later relayed that the graduate senior’s decision had little to do with playing time and more so for the fact he had accomplished everything he wanted to achieve at Clemson and he felt he would rather continue his graduate program at a West Coast school, which is closer to his home state of Hawaii.

Regardless of what others might have said, you have to respect what the young man said and appreciate it because he honored his scholarship at Clemson and gave everything he had to help the Tigers win a national championship, even playing hurt in wins over Ohio State and Alabama.

You can say the same thing for Tyshon Dye and Adrian Baker. Like Pagano, they too earned their degrees and for four football seasons, including their injury plagued seasons, did all they could for Clemson’s football program.

Sure, I can understand a fan’s disappointment when a young man decides to leave a program to pursue his dreams at another school, but like a lot of you reading this, at least these three will leave Clemson as fellow alumni, and like you, they will always be considered Clemson Tigers.

So what does all this mean? It means nothing more than what it is – four guys that decided to transfer for different reasons to pursue different dreams. Only one transfer—Jake Fruhmorgen—was partly do to his displeasure for certain things at Clemson, while the other three where for individual reasons that had nothing to do with Clemson.

There is nothing wrong with Clemson’s football program. Players are not jumping ship because something is wrong with the culture. No, these are instead individual decisions these young men have made in what they believe is in their best interest.

We have all been there before. We have had to make tough decisions that were in our best interest so we could achieve the things we wanted to achieve both personally and professionally. So instead of questioning why these four young men are leaving Clemson, and wondering if something is wrong with the program, how about we just respect things for what they are and wish them all the best wherever they might land.

—Above Photo: Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) is tackled by Clemson defensive tackle Scott Pagano (56) in the first quarter in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. (Photo by Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

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