Clemson's Cade Klubnik gets major recognition heading into season

The question surrounding who the best quarterback is entering the 2025 college football season is both heated and inconclusive. Anyone who tells you one way or the other is simply just providing an opinion, though some opinions carry more weight than others.

As such, it's important to note that The Athletic has released a 2025 college quarterback tier rankings. Sam Khan Jr. and Antonio Morales did the hard work of interviewing coaches and staffers from across college football.

If there's an opinion to put more weight behind, it would be the opinions of those coaches and staffers, who know the game and the players involved in it best.

That's why it's big news for the Clemson Tigers that their starting quarterback, Cade Klubnik, is ranked as the very best quarterback in the country heading into the 2025 season.

It should have been expected that he'd be in Tier 1, which The Athletic classifies as "the most talented QBs in the country, with the highest ceilings", but these rankings don't have anybody listed higher than Klubnik.

LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers and Florida's DJ Lagway all got votes for No. 1, but Clemson's quarterback got most of them.

“He’s really solid everywhere,” a Power 4 head coach said in the rankings. “Good, accurate passer, good size, can run. … I don’t know if he’s elite at any trait, but I don’t think he has any weaknesses.”

A former five-star recruit, ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite, Klubnik wasn't always a star for Clemson. In fact, he struggled a bit in 2022 and he was averaged in 2023 with 19 touchdowns thrown compared to nine interceptions.

Klubnik really stepped up in 2024, though. He threw for 36 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions while also rushing for seven touchdowns. He started in 14 games for the Tigers and led them to an ACC championship and berth in the College Football Playoff.

“I was a Cade Klubnik hater,” a Power 4 offensive coordinator said. “He balled out last year. I was impressed with him.”

From haters to believers, it's tough to deny Klubnik's star power heading into 2025.