After a season that fell well short of the standard set under Dabo Swinney, the question on every Clemson fan's mind is simple: Can the Tigers bounce back and reclaim their spot among college football's elite?
All eyes are on Christopher Vizzina as the likely starter when Clemson opens the season at LSU on September 5, though freshman Tait Reynolds is pushing for snaps. Vizzina, for all his promise, has just one college start under his belt—a 35-24 loss to SMU last October.
"First of all, they need good quarterback play," McElroy said. "Is it gonna be Chris Vizzina? Sounds like he's stepping in. Look, Cade Klubnik, when things were going good, he was great. When things weren't going good, it was a rollercoaster. So they need stable quarterback play."
McElroy also pointed to the ground game, which was a glaring weakness last year. Clemson finished a disappointing 11th in the ACC and 105th nationally with just 1,618 rushing yards over 13 games, relying heavily on a converted wide receiver at running back. This offseason, the Tigers addressed the need by landing SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. and adding five-star freshman Gideon Davidson to the backfield.
"They've got to be able to run the football," McElroy said. "Last year, their top running back at one point was a converted wide receiver that was in his fifth year (Adam Randall). It's not like they had a dude at running back, and they haven't had one since Will Shipley. Phil Mafah was a good one, but they need more consistent play at running back and need to be more balanced."
"They need their receivers to stay healthy, which hasn't happened the last few years," McElroy added. "And last year, with two bonafide dudes along the defensive line, that group was really underwhelming. Now they're gonna need those guys to take a step collectively in the front seven because I just think they were too inconsistent last year."
McElroy wrapped up his assessment by questioning whether Clemson's vaunted culture, long considered the backbone of the program, is still an asset—or if it has started to hold the Tigers back.
"Here's the thing about Clemson: Clemson's secret sauce is culture. That is what they are. That is what Dabo believes in. Last year, in a year that was supposed to be their breakthrough… they get punched in the mouth Week 1, and they don't recover and stumble out of the gates and look awful in the first 6-7 games of the season.
"Well, culture is supposed to be able to absorb that punch and start punching back. They didn't. So now, I think making sure that culture is not a liability moving forward, making sure that culture is still their secret sauce and allowing them to weather the storm, which they couldn't do last year, led to a very disappointing start to the season."
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