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Joel Klatt, Fox Sports’ lead college football analyst, released his Way-Too-Early Top 10 for the 2025 season, placing Clemson at No. 7.
He admitted it was a tough ranking but pointed to key factors that earned the Tigers a top-10 spot. Klatt highlighted Cade Klubnik’s return for his third year as the starting quarterback in the same offensive system and noted that Dabo Swinney has finally started using the transfer portal, which could help strengthen the roster.
Clemson sits as the highest-ranked ACC team on Klatt’s list, just ahead of Miami at No. 8. The rest of his top 10 includes LSU and Michigan at No. 9 and No. 10, while Penn State, Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, and Notre Dame make up the top six. He also noted that several teams—such as South Carolina, BYU, Arizona State, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, and Alabama—just missed the cut. Klatt admitted the rankings were tight, saying Clemson could’ve easily been slotted as low as 15th.
The Tigers are coming off a 10-4 season, which included an ACC title and a College Football Playoff appearance. They fell to Texas in the first round, but Klatt still sees them as a team on the rise. “Klubnik is there,” Klatt said. “Four of five offensive linemen back. Look what they did against Texas, even on the road. They got to the playoff, they won the ACC. The defense was not up to Clemson’s standard, and now they’re going to go out and I think they’ll be improved.”
Klatt is also high on Clemson’s new defensive coordinator, Tom Allen, who brings experience as a former Indiana head coach and Penn State’s 2024 defensive coordinator. He believes Allen will help elevate the Tigers’ defense, which returns key players like T.J. Parker, Peter Woods, and Sammy Brown while adding Purdue transfer Will Heldt.
Clemson’s 2025 schedule features a big home…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/joel-klatt-loves-hes-seen-173654348.html
Author : Clemson Wire
Publish date : 2025-02-19 17:36:00
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