Clemson football will return many of its key starters for the 2025 season in hopes of making a deeper run in the CFP.

Tigers coach Dabo Swinney has touted the program’s retention rate of players in the transfer portal and NIL era, and it has delivered stronger results than in 2023 when Clemson lost two starters to the portal. Clemson has not lost any of its end-of-year starters who have eligibility remaining this offseason

The five Tiger players who entered the transfer portal this cycle were depth or rotational players. The Tigers’ NIL collective, the 110 Society, also announced the signing of deals with numerous Clemson starters on X, formerly Twitter, in the final days of 2024.

Starting wide receiver Antonio Williams announced his return to Clemson on Friday morning, and the team is still awaiting right tackle Blake Miller’s decision as he can either forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft or return for his fourth season.

Here are five notable players who will be returning to Clemson for the 2025 season.

QB Cade Klubnik

To be successful in college football, teams need a superb quarterback, and the Tigers will get Cade Klubnik for a third season. He showed vast improvement in his second season as a full-time starter in 2024, recording 3,639 yards passing (seventh most in Clemson’s history) with 36 touchdowns (tied for second most) and six interceptions. He also rushed for 463 yards and seven touchdowns.

Klubnik put on a strong performance against Texas, the No. 2 scoring defense at the time, throwing for 336 yards for three touchdowns and one interception. He will return for a third season under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and have his starting wide-receiver trio back.

DL T.J. Parker

Clemson’s top pass rusher, T.J. Parker, is back for his third season. He logged a team-high 11 sacks and set a single-season program record for forced fumbles with six in 2024. He is a disruptive force that can get to the quarterback and set edges against the run.

Parker will look to improve more in his junior year, and he will have help on the edge with incoming Purdue transfer Will Heldt.