The Clemson-South Carolina football game should be really interesting this coming season.

Why?

Clemson’s best player on offense is quarterback Cade Klubnik. The best player on defense is defensive end T.J. Parker.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers is the Gamecocks’ best player on offense, and that is not even an argument, while defensive end Dylan Stewart is their best defensive player.

The best players on both teams are the two most important positions in football.

Recently, ESPN ranked the best players at quarterback and at defensive end in college football, and both teams were represented high on those lists.

For instance, people inside college football believe Klubnik is the best signal caller in the sport. Guess who is also high on that list?

You guessed it, Sellers.

In last year’s battle, Sellers scrambled 20 yards for a South Carolina touchdown with 1:08 to play, lifting the Gamecocks to a come-from-behind, 17-14, victory. Sellers’s legs plagued the Tigers all afternoon.

The Carolina quarterback ran for 166 yards on 16 carries, most of which were on scrambles. He also threw for 164 yards on 13 of 21 passing.

Klubnik, actually outplayed Sellers from a statistical standpoint. He ran for two touchdowns and 62 yards on 10 carries, while throwing for 280 more yards on 24 of 36 passing.

Both quarterbacks threw fourth quarter interceptions, the difference Klubnik’s came on the game’s last drive with Clemson in field goal range with an opportunity to force overtime.

Klubnik finished the season as one of the nation’s top passers, as he                                                                                                                                                               completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns with six interceptions, while rushing for 463 yards and seven more scores on the ground.

On the defensive side, Stewart is listed as the top defensive end in the country by ESPN, while Parker was picked second.

Parker followed up a freshman All-American selection in 2023 with an outstanding sophomore season in 2024, when he earned second-team All-ACC honors after tallying 64 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and six forced fumbles. 

The 6-foot-3, 265-pounder was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 10 nationally in forced fumbles (tied for second), tackles for loss (fifth) and sacks (ninth).