Clemson to Play 3 of College Football's Top 10 Quarterbacks, per ESPN

Clemson has had its share of great quarterbacks over the last decade. The Tigers can go hit for hit with any other school at the quarterback position with the trio of Tajh Boyd, Deshaun Watson, and Trevor Lawrence, but the team has struggled at QB over the past couple of seasons.

Now, Clemson turns to Cade Klubnik, the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2022. The 6-foot-3 Texan enters 2023 as Clemson's starter and hopes of another ACC Championship and College Football Playoff berth ride on his ability to gel with new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. What remains to be seen is how good Klubnik really is.

As a freshman, playing predominantly at the end of the season, we saw the great from Klubnik (20-24 for 279 yards in Clemson's ACC Championship win over North Carolina) and the lack of experience (30-54 with 2 interceptions in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee). Though Klubnik has all the abilities in the world, his lack of playing time still leaves room for doubt, and according to ESPN, outside of the top 10 college football quarterbacks of 2023.

In a ranking of quarterbacks on ESPN.com, Klubnik's name failed to crack the top 10. Two ACC QBs did make the list - Jordan Travis (Florida State) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) - with another former ACC quarterback - Sam Hartman (Wake Forest -> Notre Dame) - also making the list.

All three of those players are certainly deserving of the rankings, and Klubnik doubtfully cares about preseason rankings of any kind, but this is another example of the stance the national media has taken around Clemson in 2023: "We'll see." With missing out on the past two College Football Playoffs, Clemson has found itself outside of the perceived "contenders" in college football. The Tigers will get a chance to prove their mettle as they defend another ACC Championship, and Cade Klubnik will get a chance to prove himself as the top quarterback in the league as Clemson plays all three of the aforementioned quarterbacks in the regular season.

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