Clemson’s recent struggles are attributed to a decline in quarterback performance since Trevor Lawrence’s departure.
Coach Dabo Swinney has been criticized for not utilizing the transfer portal to acquire talent, particularly at quarterback.
The team’s scoring offense has dropped significantly, finishing 71st in the nation under recent offensive coordinators.
Dabo Swinney danced around reality at the end of a bitterly disappointing season, painstakingly avoiding the obvious that must be said.
Clemson isn’t Clemson anymore because it hasn’t been good enough at quarterback over the last five years.
Want to know why Swinney, after 17 season of unthinkable success as the Clemson coach, suddenly looks like Tommy Bowden?
It’s always the quarterback.
DJ Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik are not Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson. Or even Tajh Boyd.
Fix the quarterback, Dabo. And fix Clemson.
“Sometimes you can do your very, very best, you can give it all you’ve got,” Swinney said of this Clemson team. “And not get the result that you worked for.”
And now it’s on Swinney to figure it out.
No more avoiding the transfer portal, no more overlooking impact players for the sake of his locker room — where “everything I need is right there.” Because it’s not.
And it hasn’t been since Lawrence left for the NFL.
For all the great Swinney has produced, all the championships and All-Americans, and the two head-to-head wins in the national title game over Nick Saban and Alabama, the college football nirvana he built at Clemson is unraveling because the most important position on the field is in turmoil.
Clemson has missed badly at the position in high school recruiting, signing Klubnik, Christopher Vizzina, Bubba Chandler (who chose Major League Baseball), Chris Denson and Trent Pearman since Lawrence left for the NFL.
If any of those other than Chandler were capable of winning games, they would’ve played over any of the last three seasons. Klubnik played because that’s what Clemson had.
You want stubborn? I’ll give you stubborn.
Swinney not only doubled down on his ability to find and develop high school quarterbacks, he did so with the failed experiment of moving longtime quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter to offensive coordinator and play caller.
Then did again after another seemingly failed offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach hiring of Garret Riley, who was paid among the top at his position in college football — and has produced the uneven play of Klubnik and a scoring offense that just finished 71st in the nation (27.2 ppg.).
Imagine what could’ve been if Swinney would’ve reached into the transfer portal at just one position. If he just signed a quarterback who could’ve pushed Klubnik, who clearly knew there was no threat behind him on the depth chart ― and played that way.
Klubnik was a great teammate and leader, did everything the right way and was exactly what Swinney wanted from the most important position on the field. So was Uiagalelei, who had a 21-7 record as a starter.
Both had arm talent, and all the physical and athletic traits you want in a game-changing quarterback. Except the ability to consistently make the right decision and the best throw.
Swinney doubled down over and over on those two mistakes, something that just can’t be done in this age of player movement and teams getting better (and more difficult to beat) by adding through the portal.
So now here we are, heading into the fifth offseason of free player movement, and Swinney finally seems resigned to reality.
“Obviously, the portal opens on (Friday),” Swinney said. “So we’ll have some recruiting we’ve got to do there.”
Want to see Swinney and Clemson among the elite of college football again? Watch what happens if the Tigers land Brendan Sorsby, Josh Hoover or Byrum Brown.
Or if they gets the chance to develop Dylan Raiola or DJ Lagway or Aidan Chiles.
This isn’t that difficult to figure out. Clemson had a defensive line with two first round NFL draft picks, and had a loaded team from a group that reached the CFP in 2024 and nearly won at Texas in the first round.
That was Klubnik’s best season, when he had 43 total touchdowns (7 rushing) and the Tigers were among the top 20 in the nation in scoring offense. A year later, Klubnik had 20 total touchdowns, and Clemson finished it by digging out of a season-long hole in the freezing cold at the Pinstripes Bowl.
“You evaluate everything, that’s part of our business,” Swinney said. “Is it personnel, is it scheme, is it bad calls.”
It’s the quarterback, Dabo. Been that way for five years.
Fix it, and fix your program.