Scott Pagano Officially Transferring to Oregon

Scott Pagano, Clemson’s reserve DT will transfer to Oregon. As a graduate transfer he will be eligible to play immediately for Willie Taggart and the Ducks.

There was a bit of surprise when the initial news broke that he would seek transfer. He had 277 snaps last season despite missing most of four games (Pitt, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Virginia Tech) due to injury. Carlos Watkins is headed to the NFL, but Christian Wilkins is moving back to DT so his slot on the depth chart would remain mostly unchanged. He could have expected over 300 snaps should he remain healthy.

He cited wanting to be closer to home, but his mother and sibling moved to Central, SC right around the corner from Clemson and his father is serving our country and is stationed in Virginia.

In addition to Oregon, Pagano had looked at Notre Dame and Oklahoma as possible transfer destinations. After some of those visits, we heard he may stay at Clemson after all. It was not to be. On Friday (4/14), news broke that he had officially chosen Oregon as his transfer destination. He’ll have one year of eligibility remaining and can play immediately.

It’ll be a boon for Oregon as Willie Taggart works tireless to get their talent level back to where it must be for them to compete at the highest level. They should take a step forward next season, but will not be a favorite in the Pac-12.

With two future top 10 picks in Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence at DT, the Tigers will be okay. Albert Huggins now has a major opportunity as the third DT in Clemson’s rotation. He had 218 snaps last season. Jabril Robinson will also see more snaps.

Scott Pagano earned his degree in Sociology from Clemson and will always be a Tiger. We wish him well.