Clemson must now say farewell to a fourth player transferring out of the program during the 2021 season: Paul Tchio has decided to enter the transfer portal, making him the latest Tiger in a string of exoduses.
The sophomore from Alpharetta, GA had played sparingly in the 2021 campaign, logging only 101 snaps this year. Tchio was a consensus four-star prospect out of high school and was regarded as the 3rd best guard in his class (2020). Although the offensive line has seen a variety of starting lineups as injuries continue to plague this unit, Tchio only started one game against NC State in five appearances this season.
STS writer Dbbm said this in his season preview for Clemson’s offensive linemen:
Fortunately, there are some young talents in the wing waiting to push the starters and provide depth this year, including a pair of blue chip freshmen in Marcus Tate and Tristan Leigh. Whoever loses the battle for starting center between Hunter Rayburn and Mason Trotter is likely to be a good backup center, and sophomore guard/tackles Paul Tchio and Mitchell Mayers are recent four star recruits. The Tigers are willing to let freshmen linemen on the field - starting RT Walker Parks was named a freshman All-American by ESPN for his work as one of the first linemen off the bench last year.
Tchio saw considerable action in three out of the first four games this season but has only received seven snaps since then. Prior to this season, Tchio only had 80 career snaps. With his departure, here is how the rest of the Clemson offensive linemen rank with playing time this year:
OL Stats
Player Name | Total Snaps | Games Started |
---|---|---|
Player Name | Total Snaps | Games Started |
Jordan McFadden | 595 | 9 |
Walker Parks | 585 | 9 |
Marcus Tate | 449 | 6 |
Will Putnam | 432 | 7 |
390 | 7 | |
Mason Trotter | 234 | 4 |
Hunter Rayburn | 232 | 2 |
101 | 1 | |
Mitchell Mayes | 45 | 0 |
Trent Howard | 29 | 0 |
Jacob Edwards | 17 | 0 |
Bryn Tucker | 15 | 0 |
Tristan Leigh | 10 | 0 |
4 | 0 | |
Ryan Linthicum | 3 | 0 |
Tchio’s departure does hurt Clemson. This is a position group that has struggled mightily with injuries and consistency in assignments, and one has to imagine Tchio would be a valuable asset to this team with how much shuffling there has been on the line.
At the very least, it makes Dabo’s staunch stance on using the transfer portal appear more antiquated with each player that enters the portal. Clemson is the only major program in the country not actively using the transfer portal; Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Georgia have all taken transfer athletes with moderate to outstanding success. Will Dabo refuse to adapt and engage with such a vital part of the modern college football landscape?
Regardless of Dabo’s stance on the portal, we wish Tchio the best with his future plans and hope to see him succeed wherever he plays next.