Football season is around the corner, and the excitement continues to build. ESPN added to the hype by releasing its preseason All-American teams for 2025. Five Tigers made the list, three of whom were named to the First Team.
Clemson’s talent pool has been praised all off-season. The praise won’t slow down anytime soon with the season starting in just two weeks. The players recognized by ESPN are the reason the expectations are so high for this team.
ESPN Preseason All-Americans
First-Team All-Americans
Three Tigers were named preseason First-Team All-Americans by ESPN, starting with quarterback Cade Klubnik. ESPN noted that Klubnik was one of the most improved players in the country last season. It says his next step is proving that he is one of the best players in the nation overall.
Klubnik is coming off a season where he accounted for 43 total touchdowns. Of those scores, 36 went through the air, and the other six were from using his legs. He also racked up 4,102 yards of total individual offense in 2024. With the surrounding weapons this season, Klubnik should have comparable or better numbers by the end of 2025. He’ll have a tough task week one, matching up against the Second-Team All-American quarterback, Garret Nussmeier.
On the defensive side, both Peter Woods and TJ Parker were also named preseason First-Team All-Americans. Woods dealt with an injury last season that kept him on the sidelines for a few games early in 2024. When he was on the field, he made sure his presence was felt, even while playing out of his natural position. Moving back inside this season to defensive tackle will allow Woods to be the dominant interior defender that he is.
Parker, on the other hand, is a true defensive end. His combination of power and quick twitch off the edge has made him an anchor of the Clemson defense. In just two seasons as a Tiger, Parker has 16.5 total sacks. Also, in 2024 alone, Parker had 19.5 tackles for loss. Parker is a difference maker up front. He will have more help on the opposite end this season with transfer defensive end Will Heldt joining an already deep defensive line group.
Second-Team All-Americans
Two more Clemson players were named ESPN preseason Second-Team All-Americans. Those players are Antonio Williams and Avieon Terrell. Both players were all-conference players last season.
After sitting out a majority of his sophomore season because of injury, Williams exploded in his junior year. He caught 75 passes for 904 yards and 11 touchdowns. Williams also had both a rushing and passing touchdown last season. The senior receiver will likely be the go-to guy for Klubnik in the pass game this season. He will have lots of help around him , too, though. Sophomores TJ Moore, Bryant Wesco, and the return of Junior Tyler Brown from injury will make it impossible for teams to attempt to double-team Williams.
Terrell at cornerback is one of the best coverage players in college football. That is why he had 13 pass breakups in 2024. Add to that 64 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss, showing that Terrell is not afraid to get involved in the run game as well.
Terrell is going to have to be a true lockdown corner this season as he will have a young safety playing over top of him. This means the amount of help he will have on deep balls on certain coverages may not be as significant as when he had a veteran like RJ Mickens to help him. This season will prove just how NFL-ready Terrell is right now.
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