Dabo Swinney doubles down on frustration with targeting rule in college football

The targeting rule in college football has become a controversial one over the years. There have been concerns that ejections are too harsh and that the rule isn’t consistently officiated across the sport. Certainly, one coach who has his own frustrations with the targeting rule is Dabo Swinney at Clemson.

Swinney had previously made his frustrations with the rule clear during the 2024 season. After  Sammy Brown was controversially ejected against Pitt, he lamented, “I don’t know what it is. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

If any clarification on the targeting rule has been given out to coaches since then, Swinney hasn’t heard it. In fact, he doubled down on those frustrations, insisting that he still doesn’t know what the rule is.

“It was pretty obvious last year,” Dabo Swinney said. “I don’t know [what targeting is]. Do y’all know? Changes week to week across the country. So, TBD. We’ll see. To be determined. We didn’t have any of that today.”

The targeting rule was first implemented in 2008. It had the goal of protecting defenseless players and making violent collisions less common. A defenseless player can be multiple different things. The most common is a player attempting to make a catch, a quarterback on a change of possession, or a player in the act of or just after throwing a pass. Those players who are defenseless can’t be hit in the head or neck area. Players also can’t lead with the crown of their own helmet on hits.

Penalties for targeting are harsh. It’s a 15-yard penalty and, since 2013, it’s included an ejection for the player who commits targeting. If that ejection comes in the second half, then the player is suspended for the first half of their next game.

The problem that Swinney and many other coaches seem to have with the rule is that it doesn’t seem to be officiated consistently. There’s a large aspect of it, which remains a judgement call. Even with replay reviews, there is still confusion.

Dabo Swinney shares optimism after opening days of Clemson camp

Expectations are high for the Clemson Tigers this season. Now, with Fall Camp underway, Dabo Swinney has shared some optimism about his team.

“The biggest thing I would say is they’ve just been business-like. They’ve just been about their business. There’s been a lot of great energy. The guys have competed the way we need them to compete. They’re just practicing the right way,” Swinney said.

“That’s been the most encouraging thing, as far as the type of habits that we need to have in practice. Just hasn’t been a lot of bullcrap going on. I mean, it’s just been a very focused group. And, we need to continue that.”