National analyst Joel Klatt says 'watch out for Clemson,' ranks Tigers preseason Top 5

TJ Parker is Joel Klatt's No. 3 pro prospect in college football, and he sees the Tigers as the No. 5 overall team this season.

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Tuesday, May 06 2025

FOX lead college football analyst Joel Klatt says to watch out for Clemson football this season: "Dabo Swinney is going to have those guys back and they're going to play at a high level."

Klatt posted his post-spring Top 25 this week and slotted Clemson No. 5 overall.

"Here's a team I really, really like, in a conference that is not tough, Clemson," Klatt said. "I think Dabo Swinney is going to have a group that is capable of winning the national championship. Clemson is really good. Dabo's done it before. And listen, for all the criticism that he's gotten over the last couple of years, I'll give it to him, man. He has stayed the course. He has been consistent. He is going to ride this Clemson culture right into what I think is almost like -- it's like a twilight. They are reemerging at the top end of college football. I think we saw that last year. Even though they made the Playoff, no one really was talking about them...You're kinda wondering, 'How is this going to go against Texas?' And they played really well. They gave Texas everything they could handle, and that Texas team was a really good football team."

The Tigers have the personnel ready to make some moves.

"They get Cade Klubnik back, third season as a starting quarterback. He took a big step forward last year with Garrett Riley as his offensive coordinator," Klatt said. "They found something that had been missing in recent years, which is wide receiver play...New defensive coordinator Tom Allen, I'm a big fan of Tom Allen. Been covering him since he was the head coach at Indiana and then he was the defensive coordinator for Penn State last year...The defensive line has studs. Think back to those teams that won national championships, what did they have under Brent Venables? Great players on the defensive line. They're going to have that again, two potential first-round picks in Peter Woods and T.J. Parker...Talent on both lines of scrimmage, which is what you need...Watch out for Clemson. Dabo Swinney is going to have those guys back and they're going to play at a high level."

Parker is No. 3 and Woods is No. 5 on Klatt's early 2026 NFL draft prospects outlook.

His Top 5 is Penn State, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon and Clemson.

The next-best ACC team in his ranking is No. 18 Miami, rounding out the ACC selections.

Klatt has opener foe LSU at No. 7 and South Carolina at No. 11 overall to round out the non-conference schedule.