Clemson eyes breakout season from OT Brayden Jacobs with offensive line in flux

Coming off its worst season since 2010, Clemson is in need of a bounce-back campaign this fall. That starts with the offensive line, which underperformed last year despite featuring a first-round NFL Draft pick in Blake Miller.

Fortunately for the Tigers, they have an elite prospect waiting in the wings. Brayden Jacobs, the son of legendary New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, is back for his sophomore season and may have locked up the starting left tackle spot in spring practice. When gathering post-spring intel from around the ACC, CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz heard plenty of buzz about Jacobs, and Clemson is expecting a breakout performance from him this year.

A four-star recruit in the 2025 signing class, Jacobs is a monster of a human being at 6-foot-7 and 355 pounds. If he can make the most of that frame, Clemson will be set at the most important position on the offensive line, regardless of who wins the starting quarterback job.

The trenches are a source of uncertainty for the Tigers — especially with the season-opener coming on the road against LSU. It may be up to Jacobs to solidify that position group, and it sounds like he may be up to the challenge.

Offensive line turnover

The most notable loss for Clemson’s offensive line was Miller, a two-time first-team All-ACC selection who made 54 consecutive starts over the course of his four-year career. Miller takes a wealth of talent and experience with him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he isn’t the only veteran offensive lineman the Tigers lost this offseason.

Tristan Leigh, Walker Parks and Ryan Linthicum are also gone after starting a combined 107 games for the Tigers. In total, Clemson returns just 43% of its offensive line snaps from last season, which ranks 62nd in the country.

No program wants to lose experience along the offensive line, but a fresh start also may not be the worst thing for the Tigers. They struggled to run the ball last season, averaging just 124.5 yards per game, which ranked 105th nationally. Quarterback Cade Klubnik was under duress too often, and Clemson allowed 1.62 sacks per game, which was 44th among FBS teams.

Austin Hannon of 247Sports joined the “Cover 3 Podcast” and explained that Clemson’s experience didn’t necessarily translate to on-field success in 2025.

“Last year was not that impressive of a group, but they were very veteran,” Hannon said. “… It felt like they were playing with one or two out of five last year, and a lot of times during Cade Klubnik’s career. This year, they’ve got a lot of young guys. Matt Luke brought in six guys in this recruiting class. There were a bunch of them who were pretty highly ranked.”

Of course, turning the offensive line over to a bunch of unproven players isn’t guaranteed to yield strong results either. No matter which starting five the Tigers choose to roll with in Week 1, there will be some challenges. Hannon said his concern level for the offensive line, even with an injection of new talent, is still a “seven” out of 10.

“They’re hoping that some of these younger guys on the offensive line that they’ve brought in over the last two or three cycles — they’ve been waiting their turn behind some of these older guys — can take the reins and be better,” Hannon said. “But that’s a lot to ask for a lot of guys who, if you combined their snaps, there’s not a lot of starting snaps out there.”

Is Jacobs the answer?

Jacobs could paper over other issues on the offensive line if he becomes a dominant left tackle at the college level. Based on his high school profile, he has the ceiling to do just that.

According to 247Sports, Jacobs was the No. 55 overall player and the No. 11 offensive tackle in the 2025 signing class. In his 247Sports scouting report, the behemoth tackle was projected as a Day 2 NFL Draft pick, and his “surprising quickness and lateral mobility” was something that jumped out at the prep level.

Jacobs did see some playing time for Clemson last season, playing in 10 games and starting in four, but an injury against Louisville brought his 2025 campaign to an abrupt end. Jacobs was back on the field in time for spring practice and left no doubt about who would be anchoring the left side of the line in Week 1 against LSU.

“Brayden Jacobs is gonna start at left tackle this year,” Hannon said. “I think they feel pretty good about that. He got hurt last year. Late in the season at Louisville last year, Brayden Jacobs hurt his foot while celebrating on the field after the game and missed the last three games. He was back at practice and just a monster of a human. The expectation is he’s going to be very good at left tackle.”

Led by Jacobs, offensive line coach Matt Luke has some exciting talent to work with at Clemson. Turning all of that potential into actual production will be key in Clemson returning to its status as an ACC Championship contender.