NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Are the Clemson Tigers a surprise team ahead of the 2024 college football season? Phil Steele thinks so.
The veteran football prognosticator ranked the Tigers as his second biggest surprise team heading into the season. Florida State was right behind Clemson at No. 3. Utah was listed as the biggest surprise team on Steele’s list.
But why would Clemson be a surprise? Most off-season and post-spring rankings have the Tigers and FSU as the odds-on favorites to win the ACC, though Miami and North Carolina State have received recognition as dark-horse contenders.
Moreover, Clemson returns several starters on both sides of the ball — notably linebacker Barrett Carter and defensive linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker. The Tigers also return starting quarterback Cade Klubnik, running back Phil Mafah, receiver Tyler Brown and tight end Jake Briningstool.
RELATED: Where Phil Steele projects Clemson will finish in 2024 ACC football standings
Perhaps Dabo Swinney’s views on the transfer portal have something to do with Clemson’s appearance on Steele’s list. Swinney has made news for not taking a single player in the portal this off-season and for his outlandish claim that most players in the portal aren’t “good enough” to play for the Tigers. The Athletic even dubbed Swinney a “portal denier.”
On3 sports weighed in with their own analysis of Clemson making Steele’s list of surprise teams:
Clemson being considered a sleeper team has not been the norm throughout the past decade in college football. But after not achieving double-digit wins for the first since 2010 last season and missing out on the ACC title game for the second time in the last three years, many are sleeping on the Tigers.
Swinney‘s lack of transfer portal use has been criticized, but Steele believes the team’s continuity will be a strength…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/phil-steele-clemson-list-surprise-220414753.html
Author : Clemson Wire
Publish date : 2024-06-24 22:04:14
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
