Greg McElroy is much higher on the 2025 Clemson football than most. With the college football preseason rankings soon to be released, the ESPN analyst had Dabo Swinney's team ranked No. 1, ahead of Ohio State, Notre Dame and Penn State.

Three weeks ahead of the 2025 college football season, McElroy released his shocking preseason rankings. The former Alabama quarterback had Penn State at No. 2 behind Clemson, Notre Dame at No. 3, Texas at No. 4 and his alma mater rounding out his top five, via On3 Sports.

Clemson went 10-4 in 2024 and lost to Texas in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. Despite achieving the first playoff appearance since 2019, the season was somewhat of a letdown, considering the team's preseason expectations. McElroy has now set an even higher bar for them to reach in 2025.

Many view Clemson as an elite team, but few have them as the preseason No. 1 team. That honor has been commonly given to Notre Dame, Penn State or Texas. Some also defer to Ohio State as the defending champions.

Greg McElroy's belief in Clemson starts with Cade Klubnik

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) runs to the outdoor fields with teammates and coaches during Spring Practice in Clemson, S.C. Monday, March 24, 2025.
Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The primary reason why McElroy is so high on Clemson is his belief in quarterback Cade Klubnik, whom he sees as the best signal-caller in college football.

“I thought last year, he did an amazing job,” McElroy said on the ‘Always College Football' podcast. “I loved how much he improved from 2023. I'm banking on that improvement only growing more significantly with another year developing a rapport with what I think is an outstanding wide receiver corps. That's going to really help Cade Klubnik reach his potential this year.”

Klubnik threw 3,639 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024. After briefly contemplating the 2025 NFL Draft, he opted to return for his senior season. Klubnik is a consensus top quarterback entering the 2025 season, joining LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State's Drew Allar and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers on the prestigious list.

With a strong season, Klubnik could find himself as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. He would likely have been a Day Two prospect in 2025, making him one of the top names on the short list of players scouts are already keen on entering the season.

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