CFB insider reveals biggest strength of Cade Klubnik & Co. as Dabo Swinney aim for national championship in 2025

Cade Klubnik and Dabo Swinney will go all guns blazing as Clemson looks for a national championship run in 2025. The Tigers have a strong roster and a formidable coaching staff, something that was missing for the last couple of years. This offseason, Coach Swinney managed to fill the missing pieces and build a potential title contender. A veteran QB in Klubnik adds more strength to the roster as he will be playing in his final year of NCAA eligibility.

While making predictions for the upcoming season, CFB insiders Ross Dellenger, Steven Godfrey and Andy Staples mentioned that Clemson’s defense will create a major breakthrough for the program. It will be their biggest strength.

Swinney hired a new defensive coordinator in Tom Allen and let go of Wes Goodwin in January this year. This marked the first time a coordinator was hired outside of the program. Godfrey pointed out that if Clemson makes the final four, Swinney will deserve a lot of credit.

“If Clemson is in the final four, then I guess we have to give Dabo a little bit of credit” [Timestamp - 7:00]

He also added that QB Cade Klubnik will draw a lot of help from the revamped defense and the season opener against LSU at home will prove pivotal in their title run.

“I think the one thing that is not traditional Clemson is that they bit down and made a change. They needed a defensive coordinator. It's kind of tough for Wes Goodwin, who's gone, and Tom Allen is in from Penn State. They were good, but young and kind of mistake-prone on that defense last year. And they really got the growing pains out of the way for Allen to come in and really potentially kick out,” he explained.

Dabo Swinney raves about Cade Klubnik ahead of 2025 season kickoff

The Clemson coach was recently speaking to analyst Jim Rome about his team's preparation and expectations for the season opener. He claimed that Klubnik could have gone anywhere in the country, especially in the new transfer portal era. But he chose to stick with the program and prove his loyalty.

“He's a kid who loves where he's at. He blooms where he's planted. He loves ball, he's a gym rat. I'm just really proud of him,” Swinney said.

The LSU season opener holds a lot of significance for Clemson. It would be their first opening game at home since 2019 and a clash of two veteran quarterbacks who are most likely the Heisman contenders in 2025. Expect nothing less than an 11+ winning-games season from Swinney & Co.