Dabo Swinney is atypical in how he runs his Clemson Tigers. In this era where his contemporaries lean on modern appendages, coach Dabo embraces tradition. You’ll hardly see Clemson dip into the transfer portal, if at all. This tryst with tradition and their culture helped them keep hold of QB1 Cade Klubnik for one more year. But as much continuity as Dabo Swinney preaches and even lives by, change is the only constant. Not all change has to be bad, either. Change can be synonymous with evolution and progress. That’s exactly what Clemson has done this offseason. 

Swinney has finally adopted the transfer portal, albeit moderately. But even if it’s moderate, it’s been surgical and efficient. Clemson has used the portal to sprinkle life into a depleted D-line that was in need of depth. Speaking of traditions, the age-old one of games being won at the line of scrimmage still stands true. The Super Bowl was a proponent of this. By adding to his defensive line, Dabo Swinney has essentially made his roster stacked across the board. The Tigers didn’t lose too many players elsewhere, as they tend not to. 8 starters on offense are returning. Their offensive line is largely intact. Owing to this continuity and know-how of the system, Clemson is expected to go even further than it did last season.

All of this is baked into the buck stopping with Cade Klubnik. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Or in this case, the QB sleeve and helmet fitted with an earpiece! As the senior statesman coming off the best season of his career, Klubnik has set a high standard. Naturally, he’s expected not just to match his production but to breach it. Easier said than done for someone coming off a year with 3600 air yards and 36 TDs to go with almost 500 yards rushing and 7 further house calls. However, with the supporting cast around him mostly the same, Cade Klubnik now needs to ascend to a level close to what his predecessors, such as Trevor Lawrence, reached. One CFB analyst believes Klubnik is what stands between Clemson and a deep CFP run.

Over the Locked on ACC podcast, host Kenton Gibbs gave Klubnik his flowers for the improvement he showed in all facets of his game last year. While Gibbs didn’t lay an indictment, he implied there are holes in Klubnik’s quarterbacking that he’s moving towards plugging. But aren’t plugged just yet.

“[Cade Klubnik] is a phenomenal athlete. [But] he is figuring it out as a passer, and he’s figuring it out as a decision-maker,” said Gibbs. “Which was always the thing that would get Cade in trouble. Nobody ever said, ‘Hey, he doesn’t have the arm talent’…Nobody’s ever said, ‘Oh, his legs just aren’t there. He’s a statue back there…if it’s not the first read, he’s done.’ Nobody’s ever said that about him. It’s always been, ‘Can he make good decisions?’” This said, Gibbs thinks Klubnik will connect the dots this season. Which, in tandem with the off-season Dabo Swinney has had, could propel Clemson.

“[Klubnik’s] processing and his understanding of the game…I understand it now. He gets it. It’s now clicking for him. Things are slowing down. So you combine that with the continuity [of the roster]. With his talent, oh boy. We could be looking at a very special season for Clemson,” claimed Kenton Gibbs. Well, the use of the transfer portal to top-off the roster isn’t the only move Dabo made that lends to them projecting for a “special season.” He’s made strides elsewhere, too.

Dabo Swinney and Cade Klubnik’s shot at glory boosted by a help over from the B1G

Clemson has managed to onboard Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen to fill that very capacity. This is viewed as a major coup, and for ample reason. Penn State was a top-10 defensive in the country last year. Before that, Allen won Big 10 COTY honors for his time as HC of Indiana. Tom Allen brings loads of experience and coaching acumen to Death Valley. 

This is one of those watershed hires that changes the trajectory of a program. Similar to how Dabo Swinney’s hire did for this very program. Having a coordinator who’s got head coaching experience on the opposite side of the football from what Dabo’s forte is is a power move. So Clemson’s offense is getting over 80% of its 2024 production back, cumulatively across every position group. They’ve made a seismic upgrade on defense, at least in theory. Dabo has shown a tendency to win in the big spots. It’s not hard to argue that Klubnik is staring at one of the best situations for any QB in the country.

Things are trending well for Clemson. Their sensational entry into the inaugural 12-team CFP papered over some cracks that they’ve now filled in. Dabo Swinney has set high standards for this program and will need to deal with the byproducts of his success. The pressure to build on last year’s momentum through a relatively weak ACC field shall remain. However, this mesh of stability with the players alongside upgrades in the coaching ranks does bode well. The ceiling for Clemson is high this season. Like it or not, a disproportionate amount of the weight falls on the season Cade Klubnik can conjure.