How Clemson football stacks up vs returning QBs from LaNorris Sellers to Garrett Nussmeier
CLEMSON — Clemson football isn't the only team returning an experienced quarterback with NFL draft aspirations.
Most of the Tigers' 2025 opponents will have new starting quarterbacks like Syracuse, Boston College, North Carolina, Florida State and Louisville. All lost their 2024 starter because of the transfer portal or expiring eligibility.
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Still, Clemson has four critical games against potential College Football Playoff teams that are returning their starting quarterbacks: LSU, Georgia Tech, SMU and South Carolina. These four games could make or break Clemson's season.
While Cade Klubnik prepares for his final season with Clemson, let's look at how these four of quarterbacks stack up entering the 2025 season.
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU eye statement win in season opener vs Clemson
This game on Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) will be a rematch of the 2020 national championship game, which LSU won 42-25 behind quarterback Joe Burrow throwing for 463 yards for five touchdowns.
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Garrett Nussmeier, who was fifth in passing yards (4,052) and tied for 10th in passing touchdowns (29) last season, opted to return for his senior year in hopes of taking a leap in his second full season as a starter like former LSU quarterbacks Burrow and Jayden Daniels did.
Nussmeier is a true pocket passer who lacks mobility but possesses a powerful arm with a strong supporting cast around him. He has the second-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, behind Texas' Arch Manning and just ahead of Klubnik, who is third, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. They could be first-round selections in the NFL draft next year.
LSU has missed the CFP for five straight seasons, and it has not won a season-opening game since 2019. It eyes a win against Clemson at Memorial Stadium in one of the marquee games of Week 1 to set up its path back to the CFP.
Haynes King, Georgia Tech hope to make tremendous leap in 2025
Like Klubnik, Haynes King enters his third full season as a starter for Georgia Tech. King threw 14 touchdowns last year, 13 less than 2023, but he cut his interceptions from a conference-leading 16 to two, and his sacks dwindled from 15 to six.
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The dual-threat quarterback improved his competition percentage to 72.9% and led ACC quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns with 11 despite missing two games with a shoulder injury. The Yellow Jackets had a 7-4 record, losing three one-possession games, when King played and can build on that in coach Brent Key's third season.
Georgia Tech begins the season away against Colorado, which loses Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, then hosts Gardner-Webb, an FCS program. It can enter its first conference home game against Clemson on Sept. 13 (noon ET, ABC or ESPN) undefeated with King feeling confident, and Georgia Tech looking to send a message to the ACC.
MORE: House settlement approves revenue sharing. Here's how Clemson will pay players
Kevin Jennings, SMU looking for revenge in second season in ACC
Kevin Jennings returns to SMU for his first full season as a starter hoping to build on his impactful 2024. He helped the Mustangs to an 11-3 record, which earned them their first ACC championship and CFP appearances.
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Jennings replaced Preston Stone as the team's starter after SMU's Week 2 loss to BYU. He threw for 3,245 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and rushed for 354 yards and five touchdowns as a third-year player.
The dual-threat quarterback faced Clemson last year in the ACC championship, throwing for 304 yards and scoring four touchdowns. He also battled Tigers new defensive coordinator Tom Allen's defense when he was with Penn State in the CFP, and the Nittany Lions shut down Jennings. He had his worst game of the season, throwing for 195 yards for one touchdown and three interceptions.
Jennings will be without SMU's top running back, Brashard Smith, and its most productive pass catcher, Roderick Daniels Jr., as both players' eligibility expired. Offensive coordinator Casey Woods remained with SMU, so Jennings will have familiarity with the scheme but will have to get acclimated to new contributors before facing Clemson on Oct. 18 at Memorial Stadium.
Can Clemson stop South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers? It didn't last season
Clemson could not slow down LaNorris Sellers, who rushed for 166 yards for two touchdowns last year, including a go-ahead 20-yard score with 1:08 left. It sacked him three times, but he forced 18 missed tackles, the most Pro Football Focus has ever recorded for a quarterback since it started tracking college players in 2014.
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Sellers, 6-foot-3 and 242 pounds, is an elusive player whose strong frame allows him to withstand potential tackles and turn them into game-breaking plays. In his first full season as a starter, he threw for 2,534 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions and rushed for 674 yards and seven touchdowns.
Sellers helped South Carolina to a 9-4 record, its best finish under coach Shane Beamer and most wins since 2017. The dual-threat quarterback returns for his third season with the seventh-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
If Sellers improves his passing, not only could he improve his NFL draft stock but he can help the Gamecocks beat Clemson on Nov. 29 (noon ET, ABC or ESPN) for the second straight time in the Palmetto Bowl for the first time since 2012 and 2013.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football schedule 2025: Tigers' outlook vs returning QBs
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