Colorado and Syracuse are changing the face of spring practice with Deion Sanders and Fran Brown leading the charge. Coach Prime has been pushing for joint spring practices, a concept borrowed from the NFL, where teams practice against one another before a friendly scrimmage. But NCAA rules currently prohibit such practices.
Now, Sanders and Brown are filing the paperwork work trying to make it official. And another big name has supported the idea: Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
Dabo Swinney All for Joint Spring Practices
Dabo Swinney has long been a vocal supporter of joint spring practices. When asked again this year, he didn’t mince words.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says he’d love to practice against or play against another CFB team during spring ball (like Colorado/Syracuse are pushing for). “I feel like I’ve been saying that for the past 12 years … We’re the only college sport that doesn’t do it” pic.twitter.com/UOCWZAZNnX
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) March 26, 2025
“Y’all can probably rewind every spring practice for the past 12 years, and I think I’ve said that for years and years and years,” Swinney said. “I’ve never understood it.”
He has a point.
College football remains the only major level of the sport where teams are not allowed to scrimmage outside opponents during spring training. Youth teams do it. High schools do it. NFL teams rely on it. Yet, college programs are limited to intra-squad scrimmages—something Swinney believes is far from ideal.
“For a head coach, anytime somebody grabs an ankle, all 22 of them on the field are your guys,” he said. “It’d be nice to only be 50% invested.”
Swinney argues that joint practices against outside competition—conducted in controlled settings—would significantly benefit player development, just as they do in the pros.
His renewed push comes at a time when more programs are rethinking the value of traditional spring games. Programs such as Nebraska, Texas, Ohio State, and USC have recently modified or canceled their spring events, citing growing concerns, including potential player tampering.
A joint-practice model could mitigate those concerns while providing a more productive and competitive environment.
Clemson, for now, is still set to hold its spring game April 5 at Memorial Stadium. But Swinney made it clear he’s open to change.
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“We’re the only sport in college that can’t do it. Baseball plays people, soccer plays people, basketball runs down, scrimmages Georgia,” he said. “I’ve never—I don’t know. Who knows?”
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