What time is Clemson kickoff?

Barrett Carter is no longer with the Clemson program after a standout career, and that will be a hole the Tigers’ coaching staff has to fill. 

But the players are there to do just that. 

Somehow Wade Woodaz is already a senior (boy, that flew by fast), and he has had a strong career. Clemson’s defense will need him to take things up another level and will need him to take over Carter’s leadership role. Woodaz has 140 tackles (21.5 for loss), 8.5 sacks, nine pass breakups, three interceptions, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt in his career. Those are tremendous numbers, and we can expect him to continue to add to those numbers in a big way.

Playing next to Woodaz, for the most part, will be sophomore Sammy Brown, who had a solid freshman season with 87 tackles, including 11.5 for loss, and five sacks. But if Brown can jump from solid to terrific, which he should, that can help this defense go to another level.

Jeremiah Alexander, a transfer from Alabama (yes, a transfer … does that joke ever get old?), can be a huge and versatile piece for this defense. Linebackers coach Ben Boulware has praised Alexander’s work ethic, and if that plays out on the field, that gives the Tigers a dynamic trio at the top of the position group. 

Giving them some much-needed depth will be Dee Crayton, Jamal Anderson, Kobe McCloud and Drew Woodaz.

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Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed has done some good work in recent years, recruiting and developing talent, and that has continued with the current group.

Avieon Terrell broke on the scene as a true freshman two years ago with a tremendous season and was solid again last year, although there were some not-so-solid moments. Expect him to bounce back this season. He enters the 2025 season with 82 career tackles, 19 pass breakups, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries
Ashton Hampton had a terrific freshman season – remember that pick against Virginia Tech? – and is poised to have a big sophomore season. He had 30 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions last season.

And Jeadyn Lukus had a strong junior season after some problems with injuries during his first two seasons. Lukus played 14 games last year after playing just seven in 2023 and has 49 tackles, 11 pass breakups and two interceptions in his career.

That makes for a terrific trio at the top and a group that could (and should) do some special things this season for the Tigers. That’s especially true if Clemson’s defensive front and linebackers can put some pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. 

And they should have plenty of help from sophomore Branden Strozier and redshirt freshman Corian Gipson.

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The safeties position group has a lot of names and a lot of versatile options for position coach Mickey Conn to work with.

That starts, really, with Khalil Barnes, who likely will start at nickelback or free safety and has made a career out of making big plays for the Tigers. As a freshman in 2023, he became the first Clemson player in the Dabo Swinney era with multiple forced fumbles and multiple interceptions in a freshman season.

Barnes has 101 tackles (5.5 for loss), 11 pass breakups, seven interceptions, three forced fumbles, a sack and a fumble recovery (which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown) in 27 games, making 21 starts. That’s a LOT of production.

He’s joined at nickelback by juniors Shelton Lewis and Ronan Hanafin, a former wide receiver who also can play strong safety, along with redshirt freshman Noah Dixon.

The safety group has a lot of other moving parts, including graduate Tyler Venables and junior Kylon Griffin, who both have gotten a lot of snaps during their careers. Ricardo Jones made some contributions last year as a true freshman, while third-year sophomores Rob Billings and Kylen Webb add depth, along with redshirt freshman Joe Wilkinson.

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For the longest time, playing quarterback at Clemson was seen as more of a game-managing position or a run-first position. And that worked.

Steve Fuller had a great career. Homer Jordan was the MVP in the Orange Bowl win that resulted in a national title. Rodney Williams owned the record for most wins by a Clemson quarterback. Woody Dantzler was a dynamic talent who couldn’t be contained. Charlie Whitehurst beat South Carolina four times. And there were others.

But that all changed with the passing talents of Tajh Boyd, who remains the program’s completions and touchdowns leader. Boyd certainly changed the Clemson program the way only a few players have, and that led to a new kind of Clemson quarterback.

That continued with Deshaun Watson, who won a national title, and then on to Trevor Lawrence, who claimed the program’s third national title.

So, for 2025 the question becomes: Where does Cade Klubnik stand? More importantly, can he join those others with a national title? And can Christopher Vizzina follow Klubnik's lead and get ready to continue Clemson’s strong run of quarterbacks?

Statistics: Who are the best Clemson QBs?

• Trevor Lawrence (2018-20) – 1AA, 1D, QB on Clemson’s third national championship team. Career Win Pct. Leader (94.4), career pass efficiency rating record (164.3), career yards per passing attempt record (8.87), tied career record for most wins against Top 25 opponents (nine), did not lose a regular season game. 10,098 passing yards, 90 passing TDs, 943 career rushing yards and 18 rushing TDs. 
• Deshaun Watson (2014-16) – QB on team that ended 35-year national championship gap. 1AA, 1D. 10,163 passing yards, 90 career passing TDs. Career completion percentage leader (.674). 12,094 yards total offense. 1,934 rushing yards, 26 rushing TDs. 
• Tajh Boyd (2010-13) – 1AA, Career Completions Leader (901), Career Passing TDs Leader and ACC leader (107), Career 300-yd. Games Leader (18), Career Total Offense Leader (13,069), Career Snaps by QB (2,963). 12 of the top-14 single-game passing yardage totals in school history. 11,904 passing yards and 107 passing TDs, 1,165 rushing yards and 26 rushing TDs
• Steve Fuller (1975-78) – 1D, 4,078 passing yards, 22 passing TDs, 1,665 rushing yds, 21 rushing TDs.
• Homer Jordan (1980-82)  – First Clemson national championship QB. 3,509 passing yards, 14 passing TD, 925 rushing yards, 11 rushing TD.
• Rodney Williams (1985-88) – Career Consecutive Games Completing A Pass leader (46), 4,082 passing yards, 16 passing TD, 809 rushing yards, 11 rushing TD.
• Woody Dantzler (1998-2001) – 5,634 passing yards, 36 passing TD, 2,761 rushing yards (career leader among QBs), 27 rushing TD
• Charlie Whitehurst (2002-05) – 9,665 passing yards, 49 passing TD, 98 rushing yards, 10 rushing TD

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