The Clemson quarterback certainly has some stories to put to rest.
The former top-rated QB of his recruiting class, Cade Klubnik begins the second year as a starter and the second year in Garrett Riley‘s system has a lot to prove.
Pro Football Focus ranked him 45th out of 70 power school starting quarterbacks in 2024, 11th best in the ACC.
“Klubnik will be under scrutiny in his second year as the Tigers’ starter,” said PFF’s Dalton Wasserman. “His first full season was a bit underwhelming. Last season he made some nice shots, especially in the midrange, but he also made at least one turnover-worthy play in all but one of his starts. As a result, he has only posted at least a 70.0 overall grade in one game. Clemson’s offense will struggle again if Klubnik doesn’t show significant improvement.”
Clemson opens on August 31 in Atlanta with the top quarterback in the rankings, Carson Beck of Georgia.
“Beck was tasked with replacing two-time national champion Stetson Bennett in 2023, and he did not disappoint,” Wasserman said. He performed very well in several stable passing metrics while making lightning-quick decisions. His average throw time of 2.39 seconds was the fastest of any FBS quarterback with at least 250 pass attempts last season. Beck has the cleanest profile of any passer in college football.”
The fifth opponent of the season and a familiar opponent is No. 17, Florida State DJ Uiagalelei.
“Uiagalelei had a career year in his only season at Oregon State and will now look to fill big shoes in Tallahassee by replacing Jordan Travis. He has an impressive physical presence and a huge arm. He’s also a very good play-action passer, which should make him a seamless addition to Mike Norvell’s offense. If he can continue to improve his accuracy and get a little more involved in the run game, the Seminoles should be in contention for an ACC title despite losing a ton of talent to the NFL,” Wasserman said.
Other QB rankings of Clemson’s opponents: Grayson McCall (18) of NC State, Kyron Drones (28) of Virginia Tech, Hank Bachmeier (44) of Wake Forest, Ashton Daniels (48) of Stanford, Tony Muskett (50) of Virginia, Nate Yarnell (52) of Pitt, Tyler Shough (56) of Louisville and LaNorris Sellers (64) of South Carolina.
