These two quarterbacks from the ACC — Florida State’s Jordan Travis and North Carolina’s Drake Maye — are expected by many to be in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy this season.
But is Clemson’s Cade Klubnik a dark horse Heisman candidate?
Mark Packer believes he could be, and Packer explained on ACC Network’s ACC PM show why he thinks Klubnik has the chance to be a Heisman contender if everything clicks for him and the Tigers in 2023.
“This is how I look at all this stuff,” Packer said. “For anybody that thinks hey, our guy should be going to New York – I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what league you’re in, I really don’t – but to be that person, your team has to have one of those kind of years. Because you can’t put up stupid numbers and your team’s 4-7 hoping to get to the ‘DogAteMyHomework.com Bowl.’ So, if you’re going to have this kind of conversation in May or June or July or August, you’ve got to figure that hey, our team’s going to win 10 or more games, we’re going to be in the conversation for a conference championship, College Football Playoff appearance, major bowl bid. It’s got to be in that neighborhood. …
“So, if you’re going to add anybody else to those two names (Drake Maye and Jordan Travis), then you’ve got to think of teams that can have double-digit winning seasons, be in the hunt to win a conference title, major bowl bid and if everything is perfecto, you are a College Football Playoff contender, and that’s why I do think Cade Klubnik could be a dark horse guy. Because I do think Clemson’s going to win 10 or more games. I do think they’re going to be in the conversation, whether they get there or not. But for that to happen, he’s got to play well in this new system for that to happen. Will it click? Now if it doesn’t, we’re not talking about Cade Klubnik, we’re not talking about Clemson as far as the ACC, College Football Playoff or the Heisman. So, I do think there’s a chance.”
Travis (+1200) is fourth on FanDuel’s list of the 25 players with the best odds to win the 2023 Heisman Trophy, while Maye (+1500) is one spot behind Travis with the fifth-best odds on that list. Meanwhile, Klubnik (+2500) is 12th on the list.
The former Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, Klubnik flashed his ability late in his freshman campaign in 2022 and enters 2023 having completed 61-of-100 career passes for 697 yards with two passing touchdowns and three interceptions over 10 games (one start). He also rushed 42 times for 139 yards and two rushing touchdowns last season.
Klubnik and the Tigers will face off against the Duke Blue Devils in the 2023 season opener on Labor Day at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. (Monday, Sept. 4).
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