Why College Opener Is Must-See for Les Snead, Rams

Two college football stadiums are known as Death Valley, and the teams that play in those venues, the LSU Tigers and Clemson Tigers, will meet in Clemson Aug. 30. In addition to national rankings and berths in the College Football Playoff, that season-opener also could decide the future franchise quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams.

The most important seven days on Les Snead’s calendar could be the last week of August. Shortly after final roster reductions, Snead and his scouts will turn their attention to the 2026 draft. And because there’s no guarantee Matthew Stafford will return in 2026, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik are expected to be in the Rams’ sights.

On April 24, Snead took Atlanta’s 2026 first-round pick to allow the Falcons the right to move up and draft edge rusher James Pearce in the Rams’ first-round slot. Los Angeles currently owns a pair of first-rounders next season, giving the organization plenty of options next spring.

Depending on where the Falcons finish, the Rams could either stand pat and draft a quarterback in Atlanta’s slot, or package their own choice with the Falcons’ choice to trade up and get the player they want.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said last week that Klubnik is the nation’s best quarterback entering 2025, his third full season as the Tigers’ starter.

“It's a bit of a projection,” McElroy explained, “because this was a guy that two years ago had the weight of the world, the expectations, on his shoulders in his first year as the full-time starter. And it wasn't good. It wasn't great. It got better as the season went along, but it really wasn't very good throughout the course of the entire season.

“But last year, what a jump he made. He was fantastic. Now, I think the sky's the limit with a veteran receiving corps and a really good offensive line.”

Klubnik is already projected as a potential No. 1-overall choice, which would give Dabo Swinney two such quarterbacks this decade (Jacksonville chose Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence first overall in 2021). But any of several college quarterbacks could play their way into that No. 1 choice, including Nussmeier.

And after watching Nussmeier battle Klubnik, Snead might as well see another team in the SEC, where he cut his football teeth. The next day in Atlanta, South Carolina squares off against Virginia Tech in a game featuring Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Like Klubnik and Nussmeier, Sellers is another first-round projection.

The Rams open the regular season on Sept. 7 at home against C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

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