National analyst says one position is bringing Clemson football downward trend

Joel Klatt hopes things turn around Cade Klubnik, but he says Clemson football has suffered a decline like the latter days for Mack Brown at Texas because of QB play.

by TigerNet Staff - Mon Sep 02 16:17:05 GMT-04:00 2024

While transfer portal talk prevails out of Clemson's rough opener, another national analyst draws a parallel to another prominent program and a big recruiting miss.

FOX lead college football analyst Joel Klatt says it's all about the quarterback position, and he says Clemson is lot like Texas in the final years of Mack Brown.

"They had two elite quarterbacks take them on this wild ride that was at the top of college football, and because they got complacent, their roster slipped, the quarterback masked it and then when that quarterback walked out the door – bang, reality hit, and that’s exactly what’s happening to Clemson," Klatt said. "It was so apparent to me as that game was playing out versus Georgia…Is it transfer portal? Mmm, kinda, maybe. That’s what everyone wants to say about it, but it’s not really transfer portal. What’s happened at Clemson? They’ve missed on quarterbacks. When you get 5-star quarterbacks, and they don’t pan out, that sets you back. And it sets you back in a big way. We saw it in Texas…

"We thought DJ U was going to be that guy because of the way he played for an injured Trevor Lawrence [covid sit-out period]...Then he took over and it didn’t pan out, and we were like, it’s actually Cade Klubnik. He’s the guy. He’s the star. Well guess what? It’s not panning out."

Klatt says he hopes things turn around for Klubnik, who dropped to 9-6 as a starter with the 34-3 defeat.

"Maybe it will (pan out), and I hope it does," Klatt said. "Because Cade, I think is still a really good player, and maybe that’s a team that can still develop and have a really good year in what is unquestionably a soft league. I hope that’s the case. Right now, this looks exactly like what happened at the University of Texas. The roster is not what it was under Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence…(Lawrence) was masking issues when those older players graduated. By the time Trevor walked out the door, Clemson was not Clemson…This is what Dabo is fighting.

"The roster is not where it needs to be. When you miss on quarterbacks, this is what happens."