Dabo Swinney has long had his own policy about adding transfers that he’s stuck to during his tenure as Clemson’s head football coach.

While many teams, including some that are annually on the Tigers’ schedule, have taken advantage of the transfer portal to supplement their rosters, Swinney has been against it. He’s never brought in a transfer. Not even since the NCAA adopted one-time transfer legislation last year that allows players who have never previously left one FBS school for another to be immediately eligible at their new school if they choose to do so.

After a 2-2 start, one that has all but eliminated the Tigers from the College Football Playoff picture less than a month into the season, Swinney’s policy is being probed as attrition and youth take their toll on the Tigers at key positions.

That combination has played a part in some of the inconsistencies along an offensive line that’s got two new starters as well as center Matt Bockhorst and left tackle Jordan McFadden playing different positions than they did last year. Sophomore right tackle Walker Parks and true freshman left guard Marcus Tate are the first-time starters, though Clemson made a change against North Carolina State on Saturday by starting sophomore Paul Tchio in place of Tate, who started the first three games. Tchio split most of the reps at left guard with another sophomore, Hunter Rayburn.

Swinney said he didn’t search the portal for more seasoned linemen in the offseason. Asked Sunday if he might entertain the idea of adding more experience to his roster through the portal in the future, though, Swinney didn’t completely shut the door on the idea.

“I think there’s a balance at some point depending on what happens,” Swinney said. “You’re always evaluating everything that you do, but I think the biggest thing is it just depends on who’s the best player and how the transfer situation impacts programs. We’re not even a year into the  (one-time) transfer situation, so I think that’s going to force everybody to (evaluate) because if guys leave in the spring, you can’t sign high school kids in the spring. In college football, that’s going to happen moving forward. There’s no question.”

Clemson has been a victim of the transfer portal. Most recently, running backs Demarkcus Bowman (Florida) and Chez Mellusi (Wisconsin) left the program, and that was before the Tigers’ most experienced back, senior Lyn-J Dixon, decided he would transfer three games into this season. Defensive tackles Nyles Pinckney (Minnesota) and Jordan Williams (Virginia Tech) also left after last season.

Swinney said the Tigers have a certain number of scholarships ideally designated for each position and that the team entered this season in excess of that at running back and defensive tackle. But injuries and other attrition have cut into that depth.

The Tigers had six scholarship running backs before Dixon decided to leave. True freshman Will Shipley sustained a leg injury against N.C. State that will keep him out for at least a few weeks, Swinney said, leaving sophomores Kobe Pace and Michel Dukes, sixth-year senior Darien Rencher and another true freshman, Phil Mafah, as the options there. The interior of the defensive line has suffered back-to-back blows with the losses of starting defensive tackles Tyler Davis (bicep surgery) and Bryan Bresee (torn ACL) in consecutive weeks, which is forcing sophomores Ruke Orhorhoro and Tre Williams into more significant roles.

It’s been tough luck for the Tigers at those positions from a numbers standpoint, Swinney said.

“We’re not going to have 10 running backs on scholarship here. You can’t do anything about injuries,” Swinney said. “We have a number at every position, and that’s how we manage the roster and recruit to it. Every scholarship counts. All of those (departing transfers) were replaced from a numbers standpoint. It’s just unfortunate that we’ve had some injuries, but everybody has that. You need to take what you’ve got and see if you can go beat the other team with it.”

Clemson’s next opportunity to do that will come Saturday when the Tigers host Boston College at Memorial Stadium.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!