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What makes Cade Klubnik, defensive line among Dabo Swinney's top assets at Clemson football
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- What makes Cade Klubnik, defensive line among Dabo Swinney's top assets at Clemson football
CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney always touts his program's retention rate, and its success this offseason has the Tigers in position to thrive.
Clemson lost six players, all reserves, in both transfer portal windows combined, while it added three portal players , the most in one cycle under Swinney, who is entering his 18th year as coach.
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Now the Tigers have one of the most experienced teams in the country on both sides of the ball as they pursue their first College Football Playoff national championship appearance since 2020.
Here are Clemson 's top position groups ahead of the 2025 season:
Peter Woods , TJ Parker headline Clemson football 's loaded defensive line
This unit is led by tackle Peter Woods and end T.J. Parker , both of whom could be taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft . Woods, who cut his weight from 320 pounds to 300 this spring, is a disruptor, recording three sacks and one forced fumble in 11 games last season.
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Parker led Clemson in sacks with 11 and set the program record for forced fumbles in a single season with six. Will Heldt , who transferred from Purdue , is expected to play opposite Parker, and defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart has returned for his sixth season to play alongside Woods.
If Clemson's starting line excels this season and leads it to the national championship, it could draw comparisons to the "Power Rangers," the quartet of Clelin Ferrell , Dexter Lawrence , Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryant who helped the Tigers to a 41-3 record, three CFP appearances and two national titles from 2016 through 2018.
Clemson also has quality rotational pieces who can contribute, like tackle Stephiylan Green, Vic Burley and Amare Adams and ends Jahiem Lawson and Cade Denhoff.
MORE: How Clemson football stacks up vs returning QBs from LaNorris Sellers to Garrett Nussmeier
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Clemson football could have nation's best wide-receiver room
Swinney believes he has six wide receivers who would start on other programs with Antonio Williams , Bryant Wesco Jr., T.J. Moore , Tyler Brown , Cole Turner and Tristan Smith . Williams returned for his fourth season after leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He joins second-year wideouts Wesco and Moore, who both shined in their inaugural seasons.
Brown, who attended Greenville High School, is back after an ankle injury derailed his 2024 season, and accompanies Turner and Smith, who transferred from an FCS school, as Clemson's depth receivers. Swinney has said that his wideouts will come in "waves of terror" in 2025.
With quarterback Cade Klubnik returning, Clemson wants to regain the "Wide Receiver University" title , anointed when future NFL players DeAndre Hopkins , Sammy Watkins , Mike Williams , Hunter Renfrow and Tee Higgins , among others, came through the program in the 2010s.
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Cade Klubnik's return strengthens Clemson's quarterback room
The reason Clemson can dream big in 2025 is because of Klubnik. He improved vastly in his third season, completing 308 passes (third-most in a season in school history) and throwing 36 touchdowns (second-most).
In the first round of the CFP last season against Texas , Klubnik completed 60% of his passes and threw for 336 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was the most passing yards and touchdown passes Texas allowed in a game all season. He enters 2025 as a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate and the catalyst for why Clemson can win the national championship.
Christopher Vizzina is likely Klubnik's successor. Swinney tries to add a quarterback every recruiting cycle but didn't take one in 2024 because of the team's belief in Vizzina, a four-star prospect out of Briarwood Christian High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Swinney has said that Vizzina has been impressive during spring practice.
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Clemson has signed three-star quarterback Chris Denson , who has the skills to be a future star of the program.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: Dabo Swinney's strongest 3 position groups for 2025
