Clemson is returning a great deal of its production from last season, with most of it coming back on the offensive side of the ball. The most important of which is quarterback.
Cade Klubnik improved mightily from his sophomore to his junior season, and some coaches around the conference have taken notice. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN interviewed college coaches anonymously, asking them to help create a list of the top 15 QBs going into the 2025-26 season. At the top of the list sits Klubnik, ahead of every other play-caller in the country.
Cade Klubnik ranked No. 1 QB heading into the 2025-26 football season
When Rittenberg writes about what ACC Coaches had to say about Klubnik, they had nothing but glowing comments about the senior QB. "ACC coaches clearly respect Klubnik, who led Clemson to a somewhat surprising conference title last fall and guided a much-improved overall offense," wrote Rittenberg
One coach admired Kubnik's tenacity over the years. "He's been through the struggles, the ups and downs. I thought he finished well and played well for the most part. He's got a good team around him," said the anonymous ACC coach.
Another coach highlighted his improved passing last season. "He's one of the most improved passers in the country," an ACC defensive coordinator added. "I know he was gritty, a competitor, but the passing really got better last year."
However, when it came to ranking Klubnik number one, that was up to Rittenberg. Not only was he impressed with Klubnik's year-over-year progression, but he thinks that with another season under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, Klubnik could see another bump in his improvement.
"Klubnik enters the fall with a ton of key boxes checked, including his first CFP appearance at Clemson." wrote Rittenberg. "He had 17 more touchdown passes than the 2023 season, cut his interceptions total by three despite 32 more pass attempts, and again connected on more than 63% of his attempts… Klubnik recorded the second-highest passing touchdowns total in team history and will be working with coordinator Garrett Riley for the third straight season."
While all of that's true, there's still one crucial area where Klubnik's arguably improved the most: the rushing game. In 2024, he rushed for more than double the yards in either of his previous seasons, scoring seven touchdowns on the ground, including his game-winning 50-yard rush to beat Pittsburgh. Undoubtedly, becoming a legitimate rushing threat from the backfield opened up some of the passing game last season.
CADE KLUBNIK WAS DETERMINED TO FIND THE END ZONE 😤 pic.twitter.com/MvvOq0tunx
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