Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team spent their portion of ACC Media Day discussing the 2025 iteration of the Clemson Tigers, national championship aspirations, and the growing fuel being thrown onto the season-opening fire that is the looming LSU game.
“Whoa. That is bright,” quipped Swinney as he took to the podium at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. “Just super excited to be at this point in our 2025 journey. This is kind of what it all builds to, just getting to the season. You work all year for just a few days, and one of those days is coming up just a few weeks down the road. An opportunity to get back on the field with our team as a full staff and a complete team next week.”
Dabo Swinney
For Swinney, the road to the 2025 season really started several years ago. Following the Tigers’ 2018 national championship season, the Clemson program slowly and methodically regressed under the changing college football landscape over the years to the point that many questioned whether the Tigers could ever contend on the national stage again.
Now, with a loaded roster and the most returning production of any team in the country, the rhetoric has shifted to that of Clemson being one of the frontrunners for another national title.
“That’s really for us what it’s always been about, just being incredibly consistent,” Swinney explained. “We’re not perfect, but we’re incredibly consistent. That’s because we’re purpose-driven and we’re relationship-driven. I think our program reflects that purpose in everything, in every aspect. We’ve got the highest graduation rate in America. Thirteen out of the last 14 years, we’ve been top 10 academically. We’re the only school in America 14 years in a row, top 25 in football and academics. We’re a place that really values education.”
Dabo Swinney
An illustration of the complete program package that Dabo Swinney strives to implement.
Joining Dabo on stage were three of Clemson’s biggest returning stars. Quarterback Cade Klubnik, who enters his third season as the starter, along with defensive superstars T.J. Parker and Peter Woods were also on hand and had much to say about the season ahead.
While Cade has blossomed into one of the best quarterbacks in the country, it was not always so. Klubnik struggled to find consistency early in his career and the former 5-star recruit from Austin, TX heard the calls for him to be replaced during his sophomore season. Those outside voices grew louder by the game and affected him in a visceral way. He admits he was close to giving up, until Swinney called him into his office for a heartfelt meeting.
“After my sophomore year, when a lot of people wanted me out at Clemson, Coach Swinney pulled me into his office and told me, ‘Cade, I believe in you. Let’s go to work’” recalled Klubnik. “That conversation has fueled me for the last two years. Having a coach like coach Swinney to lean on through everything, through the ups and the downs, has been unbelievable. When everybody kinda told me I sucked and wasn’t very good, I’ll never forget that moment.”
Cade Klubnik
During the 2024 campaign, Klubnik passed for over 3,600 yards and 36 touchdowns. Entering 2025, he has been labeled as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Cade Klubnik | 2024 Highlights
On the other side of the ball there is Parker and Woods who, unlike Klubnik, burst right onto the national scene early in their careers. Parker was one of the leading pass rushers in the nation a year ago, and the versatile Woods has played everywhere from defensive end to the interior of the defensive line throughout his career.
Both now head up what many are calling the best defensive line in college football and the two rising juniors understand what is expected of them and the Clemson football team.
Parker spoke at length about playing for new Tigers defensive coordinator Tom Allen and how his presence has helped rejuvenate a defense that had grown stagnant over the past several seasons under former coordinator Wes Goodwin. Parker says he loves playing for Allen and expects his tutelage to pay immediate dividends this year.
“For (Coach Allen), from day one, it’s about passion,” Parker said. “I need to be coached as hard as possible, and you can get in my face and tell me what it is and tell me what to do, and he’s been that way since day one. For me, that builds a lot of confidence in my game and also looking forward. I’m just so happy to have him on the team, and it’s going to be a great season.”
TJ Parker
Parker added that he uses last year’s loss to Texas in the College Football Play-off as motivation.
“Obviously we didn’t get the job done against Texas, and that kind of stunk right there,” he continued. “For me, I’m always big on getting better and that was the first thing we talked about with Coach Allen when we sat down and had a conversation, what I did wrong in that game, what I could have done better, and here’s what we’re going to do going forward.”
TJ Parker
Woods, once again, is expected to be a Swiss Army knife on defense, playing inside and out on the line. It is a role he relishes, and Peter explained that he will do whatever it takes to help Clemson win at a high level. Dabo Swinney has long praised Woods’ abilities and he wants to make a bigger mark this season.
“I’m super excited,” stated Woods. “I just love the game. I’m just going to do whatever it takes to put my team in the best position to win. So, if it’s inside, outside, off the ball, if I’m throwing the ball, it don’t really matter. Whatever coach asks me to do, I’m going to get it done to the best of my ability. That’s really all it is. That’s your job. You got that. I’m going to get it done, though.”
Peter Woods
There is a quiet confidence surrounding this Clemson team, a trademark seen before when Dabo Swinney knows his Tigers are going to be really good. And it will be another set of Tigers who come calling at Death Valley, the real Death Valley, for the season opener on August 30.
There have been several jabs thrown Clemson’s way by LSU coach Brian Kelly in recent days, the latest in which he referred to Clemson’s Memorial Stadium as ‘Death Valley Jr.’ Of course, that statement did not go unnoticed by the Tigers and it was also addressed on Thursday.
“They can have their opinion,” Parker said. “We’re going to handle all that on August 30.”
TJ Parker
In actuality, Memorial Stadium started being referred to as ‘Death Valley’ in 1948. LSU started using the title in 1959. In a previous interview Dabo Swinney made sure to drive that point home.
“We don’t have to prove that,” Swinney poignantly stated. “That’s a fact. You can Google that.”
Dabo Swinney
Stadium naming claims aside, it is now all business for Clemson football. With high expectations, confidence in themselves, and a multitude of elite playmakers on both sides of the ball, the Tigers are ready to start fall practice next week and have their sights firmly set on reaching the summit of the college football world once again. Doing so would be an ultimate vindication for Swinney whose unfettered view of how his program should be run may prove to be right after all.
“Excited about that next phase in our journey,” Swinney said. “Me personally, this is my 36th year in college football and my 23rd at Clemson. Three at Alabama and Year 23 at Clemson. It’s just special. Just incredibly grateful and blessed to have an opportunity to be a part of a team and have a chance to do something that I really love, and that’s the game of football and competing and doing life with a bunch of great young people.”
