We've reached the point in the offseason where really the only "news" breaking is regarding recruiting and the transfer portal. Spring ball is over and there's about four months until Clemson football takes the field against LSU to open the 2025 season.
We're also at the point where we see rankings lists everywhere and we get to endlessly debate them until teams actually take the field and players can prove themselves.
There have been a lot of quarterback rankings lists and Cade Klubnik appears at the top of most of them. If not at the top, near the top.
So that brings me to my burning question: Is Klubnik the best returning quarterback in the nation heading into 2025?
My answer? Yes.
There can be arguments made for guys like Garrett Nussmeier of LSU or Drew Allar of Penn State or LaNorris Sellers from South Carolina or even Sam Leavitt of Arizona State, but Klubnik has proven himself for a longer period of time than the rest of those guys. You could even make a case for young, unproven guys like Arch Manning or DJ Lagway but Klubnik has the resume.
Looking at the same guys who are always near the top of these rankings (Allar, Nussmeier, Sellers, Leavitt), Klubnik's numbers blow them all out of the water.
Don't believe me? Let's look at the numbers.
QB | Passing stats (2024) | Rushing stats (2024) |
|---|---|---|
Cade Klubnik | 3,639 yards, 36 TDs, 6 INTs, 63.4% completions | 463 yards, 7 TDs |
Drew Allar | 3,327 yards, 24 TDs, 8 INTs, 66.5% completions | 302 yards, 6 TDs |
Garrett Nussmeier | 4,052 yards, 29 TDs, 12 INTs, 64.2% completions | -38 yards, 3 TDs |
LaNorris Sellers | 2,534 yards, 18 TDs, 7 INTs, 65.6% completions | 674 yards, 7 TDs |
Sam Leavitt | 2,885 yards, 24 TDs, 6 INTs, 61.7% completions | 443 yards, 5 TDs |
Kevin Jennings | 3,245 yards, 23 TDs, 11 INTs, 65% completions | 354 yards, 5 TDs |
I even threw in SMU's Kevin Jennings because that's a name I've seen mentioned, too, along with Haynes King of Georgia Tech and Rocco Becht of Iowa State, but just looking purely at the numbers, it's fairly clear who the best returning quarterback is.
It's Klubnik.
Allar was solid last season and had the best completion rate of these guys, but he didn't play well at all in the biggest games of the season, passing for 226 yards on 51.3% completions with three touchdowns and two picks against Oregon in the Big Ten title game, throwing for 127 yards and no touchdowns in the first-round playoff game against SMU, completing 12-of-25 passes for 171 yards and three scores against Boise State, and going 12-for-23 for 135 yards and a pick in a semifinal loss to Notre Dame.
Nussmeier was prolific, but didn't run well and had a turnover problem that needs to be corrected. Sellers wasn't nearly as prolific of a passer as the rest of the guys but was the best runner. Leavitt was solid, but limited. And Jennings also had a turnover issue.
In the end, it's Klubnik that stands out as the best all-around quarterback heading into the season and I really don't understand lists that don't have him at No. 1.