Klatt says What’s Happened at Clemson Isn’t about Transfer Portal

On The Joel Klatt Show , the lead Fox Sports college football analyst chimed in on Clemson following the Tigers’ 34-3 loss to Georgia last Saturday.

Klatt assessed whether Clemson has a transfer portal problem after the lopsided loss.

He says Clemson’s decline is not really about the transfer portal, but rather, a drop-off in quarterback play – much like the end of Mack Brown’s tenure at Texas.

“They had two elite quarterbacks take them on this wild ride that was at the top of college football, and because they got complacent, their roster slipped, the quarterback masked it and then when that quarterback walked out the door – bam. Reality hit, and that’s exactly what’s happening to Clemson,” Klatt said.

“It was so apparent to me as that game is playing out against Georgia, and I’m thinking to myself, what happened? What is it? Is it transfer portal? Kind of, maybe. That’s what everyone wants to say about it, but it’s not really transfer portal. What’s happened at Clemson? They’ve missed on quarterbacks. When you get five-star quarterbacks and they don’t pan out, that sets you back, and it sets you back in a big way. We saw it at Texas.”

Klatt added that “maybe it will (pan out)” for Klubnik, and he hopes it does because he thinks the former five-star prospect and former Texas Gatorade Player of the Year “is still a really good player.”

“And maybe that’s a team that can still develop and go on and have a really good year in what is unquestionably a soft league, and I hope that’s the case,” Klatt said. “But right now, this looks exactly like what happened at the University of Texas. The roster is not what it was under Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence. Deshaun Watson wins a championship. Trevor Lawrence wins a championship, but then he was masking issues when those older players graduated. So by the time Trevor walked out the door, Clemson was not Clemson, just like by the time Colt McCoy walked out the door, Texas was not Texas.

“This to me is the parallel and this is what Dabo is fighting. The roster is not where it needs to be. When you miss on quarterbacks, this is what happens.”

A limited number of signed footballs from Clemson’s 2022 class are still available.  Get yours while supplies last!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!