“I thought we got our bu— kicked; I didn’t think we were physical enough, didn’t play hard enough. You just burn the tape.” This was Dabo Swinney after the 22nd-ranked Louisville Cardinals came to Memorial Stadium, defeated Clemson by 33-21, and left more questions than answers for the coach and the team. And this wasn’t something new; Georgia earlier defeated Clemson in their opening game at home, and the Gamecocks would again defeat them at home later in the season.
Sure, Clemson would go to the playoffs, but the result was already without a doubt when they were to face the Longhorns. They didn’t go down without a fight, but it was a lost cause. The center of all this was their quarterback, Cade Klubnik, slated to improve on his 2023 season, but he didn’t quite do that, as he finished with a meager 63.4% pass completion rate at an average of 7.5 yards per attempt. Surely, there would be a time when Dabo Swinney said, ‘Is that all you can do, Cade?’. Well, he now has said something similar, although not quite in those overtones.
Speaking in a recent post-practice press conference, Swinney did provide a challenge for Klubnik going into the next season. “We had some guys like TJ (T.J. Moore) that were going to get here till the summer, and some guys were out in the spring from an injury standpoint. Then you had some new people showing up that were trying to kind of get on the same page. And you know they’re just a lot further along from a chemistry standpoint. But Cade (Klubnik) is, he’s just a veteran guy, a veteran leader, very confident. And that can only come from being battle-tested and having the type of experience that he’s got from really good success but also some failure as well.“
Surely, Swinney is still showing faith in his quarterback for the 2025 season. Partly because this is the only veteran option that he has in his room right now. But also because there are still expectations that Klubnik has the potential to perform even better in the next season in the offense. Talking about the offense, it was probably the only reason keeping Clemson afloat, as their defense gave us the handbook of ‘what not to do in defense’ all over the 2024 season. Still, Swinney has his eyes on a backup and a potential starter quarterback in case things go awry.
Swinney highlighted the importance of Christopher Vizzina (QB) in his 2025 season squad and the things he will do going forward. “He’s just a committed kid. He’s really talented. We were really fortunate to get him, a highly recruited guy, and just bought into our plan, and so, [I’m] just proud of him; I mean, he’s done a nice job. He’s in a much better spot than he was this time last year going into his really getting first reps. Now he’s gotten two reps all year, and in this spring, we’re giving him a lot of reps. I think that’s the next step for him, and so we are getting Cade the work he needs but really force-feeding, you know, CV (Christopher Vizzina).”
Christopher Vizzina was a player who joined Clemson in the 2023 season, and he looked like a well-polished prospect. Ranked 8th in his position in the 2024 class and had a rating of 94.59 (ON3), he still is a very good prospect to fill in Klubnik’s shoes if needed. It’s without a doubt that the player hasn’t seen many snaps; still, he had accumulated 190 yards for a 55.9% completion rate in the 6 games in which he featured. So, can he take that step forward for Dabo Swinney?
Dabo Swinney’s stance on the new ACC model
Well, we all know the lawsuits filed by Clemson and Florida State against the ACC. That motivation? Nothing other than getting more green. But now it seems their demands have been met, and they now have the new revenue-sharing model in ACC in which 60% of revenue will be going to the top-performing teams, and the remaining 40% will be distributed equally in the league. Surely, this would force Dabo Swinney and Mike Norvell to hold their horses in the courtroom, right?
Dabo Swinney has undoubtedly cleared his stance on the new model and the TV-sharing media rights deals. “Yeah, it’s just all part of it. That’s what all those lawyers get paid for. They meet and settle all that stuff. That’s why I guess it was called a settlement. You know, all those people had to figure out what they were going to agree on, so hey, it’s great. You know, my job is just to go see if we can win the competition.”
Swinney’s stance seems to be clear. Leave the legal side of things with the lawyers and just focus on delivering on the field. However, whether the deal will force Clemson and FSU to hold their horses in the long term and keep them in the ACC is still an open question. However, Swinney has still acknowledged the progress that has been made.
“It’s definitely good for Clemson.” Furthermore, his athletic director, Graham Neff, welcomed the move, hailing ACC as an “excellent fit for Clemson.” So, for now, it seems things have cooled down for Clemson. Add to all that the changed model comes with a new exit clause from ACC, which would reduce the exit fee of $700 million to $75 million in 2030-31, decreasing $18 million annually. Clemson would be a happy college right now for sure.
The post Dabo Swinney Clears Stance on Cade Klubnik’s Future as $75M ACC Settlement Triggers Blunt Take From Clemson HC appeared first on EssentiallySports.