Dabo Swinney Reveals Key to Clemson Tigers Success for 2025

Thursday marked the Clemson Tigers’ turn to speak at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., and head coach Dabo Swinney came to address the high hopes the team has. 

The hopes come from a returning production of 80% from 2024, being a veteran-led squad that many analysts say has the best quarterback in the country in Cade Klubnik, one of the top receiving corps in the FBS, and one of the most talented defensive lines in the sport. 

Swinney believes the retention comes from the closeness that the group has. 

“They value the place that they're at,” he said on Thursday. “These guys, they could all go wherever they want to go, but it's a close group. They've done football life together for a few years now, and they've had some success. Certainly last year and getting a chance to maybe get a little glimpse at the top of the mountain, that's certainly given them a little fuel as they've gotten back to work since January.”

It starts with Klubnik, who, through the trial and tribulations of being Clemson’s starting quarterback for two years, has had the trust in Swinney the entire time, even when fans were telling the coach to change things up. 

“We've got a bunch of great young men,” Swinney said. “Our quarterback, especially, that's had to manage success well, and he's had to manage some failure well, too. He's grown into a great leader of our team.”

The Tigers are a team that is built on purpose, as Swinney is an advocate for education and guiding student-athletes into good habits. The team has had a 99% graduation rate since 2016, and the players on his roster buy into the educational success.

“It's a holistic approach, and we've won, as well,” Swinney said. “In the craziest probably three years of college football, not only are we tops in the country in graduation, we're top in the country in retention. Fewest players leaving your program.”

With the highest retention rate, one of the top returning quarterbacks in the country, as well as a new defensive coordinator in Tom Allen, it is all shaping up to be a top 10 clash with LSU at Memorial Stadium for Clemson’s opening game of the year.

While the media is speaking highly of this team, Swinney agrees, but there needs to be work on the field to agree with the outside claims. 

“We've been around a lot of good teams, and this team has the ingredients to be a really good team, but we've got to go do the work,” he said. “We can't talk about it or predict our way into it. Y'all can't predict our way into it. We've got to go do it and do the work.”

Because of the Tigers’ overall leadership and experience, it’s a recipe for consistent success. 

“Great leaders that really, truly care about each other, they care about the place, and they have a very clear vision of how they want to finish,” Swinney said. “Now they've got to go do the work.”