Cade Klubnik reveals Clemson's overlooked offensive playmakers to watch this season

All eyes are on Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik as he enters his sophomore season for the Tigers. But what will his supporting cast look like on offense?

Klubnik spoke about which offensive playmakers he expects to make an impact this upcoming season at ACC Media Days, but he knows that nothing will be possible without some good protection and run blocking from his offensive line.

“I mean at the end of the day it starts up front, it starts with those front five with our offensive line and that’s what’s going to drive this offense and I believe we’re going to have the best offensive line we’ve had at Clemson in a long time,” Klubnik said.

After facing some injury struggles in 2021, Clemson’s offensive line took a step forward last season. They kept Klubnik’s jersey clean in his first career start in the ACC Championship game versus North Carolina where he wasn’t sacked once, also clearing the way in the run game where the Tigers ranked third in the ACC in total rush yards finishing the season with 2,491 yards on the ground.

“And then on top of that I think we have the two best running backs in the country, we’ve got Will Shipley and Phil Mafah that have just continued to show what they can do in the past three years,” Klubnik said. “They’ve both come in and have made major strides.”

Shipley and Mafah combined for 1,697 yards on the ground and 19 rushing touchdowns last season, as Shipley established himself as one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the country. He became the first player in ACC history to be named first-team all-conference at three different positions, earning first-team honors at running back, all-purpose, and specialist categories.

But one of the biggest question marks of Clemson’s offense is who will make plays out wide as a pass catcher, an area that the team has recently taken a step back in.

“And then I think the guys that nobody’s talking about are Beaux Collins, Adam Randall, Antonio Williams, and Jake Briningstool,” Klubnik said. “Those are going to be four guys that I’ve seen put in the extra hours this summer, that have been there on the weekends, throwing four, five times a week. I think the people are doubting them right now and I’m so excited for them to show what they’ve got.”

For four straight seasons, the Tigers had a 1,000-yard receiver, until the last two seasons where they failed to have a pass catcher surpass 650 yards receiving. There’s no doubt that a high standard has been set at the position, and it will be interesting to see if someone can emerge and uphold that standard this upcoming season.