Clemson rising senior quarterback Cade Klubnik and rising senior linebacker Wade Woodaz appeared on the latest episode of Clemson Football’s official podcast, 2 Right Turns.

During an overview of spring ball in one segment of the episode, Klubnik and Woodaz were asked to pick an “under-the-radar” player on each side of the ball that really stood out to them this spring.

Defensively, Woodaz named true freshman defensive tackle Amare Adams – the 6-foot-4, 285-pound product of South Florence (S.C.) High School who generated no shortage of buzz during spring practice after joining the Tigers in January as a five-star prospect and one of the nation’s top-ranked recruits regardless of position.

“For me, defensively, the guy I would point out is Amare Adams,” Woodaz said. “He picked it up really quick. And for that dude to be 18 years old and be that big is – I don’t know what they feed them boys over in Florence, but I want some of that. Definitely Amare Adams for sure.”

On the offensive side, Woodaz pointed to second-year tight end Christian Bentancur.

A multi-sport star at the Illinois high school level, Bentancur was a consensus top-125 player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class and enters the 2025 season having played 17 offensive snaps over six games during his redshirt season in 2024.

“Offensively, a guy who’s stood out, I would say Christian Bentancur,” Woodaz said. “He’s physical, fast, literally can do everything. He’s definitely stood out, and great person for me to compete against as a backer. He’ll come and try to block me, and I’ll have to cover him. So, yeah, I love going against him too, and we talk to each other about it too, where can I improve – like, ‘Hey Christian, what do you think about this rep?’ or ‘What should I do better?’ and I just think that ultimately makes us better.”

As for Klubnik, on the defensive side, he circled a pair of defensive ends – redshirt freshman Darien Mayo and junior Will Heldt.

Of course, Heldt transferred to Clemson this offseason after two productive seasons at Purdue, while Mayo, a former four-star and top-150 national prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, enters 2025 following a redshirt campaign in 2024 during which he collected four tackles (0.5 for loss) in 33 defensive snaps over three games.

“I would say on the defensive side, definitely Mayo,” Klubnik said. “I think he’s a guy that has gotten better every year, but he’s really had some big kind of sparks this spring where he’s been making some disruption.

“And then Will Heldt as well, just coming in and every since he got here, he just kind of got here and went to work. So, I’m definitely feeling that as a quarterback and feeling that pressure sometimes. … They’ve been disrupting a lot.”

Offensively, Klubnik showed love to senior wide receiver Tristan Smith, who drew plenty of praise during spring ball after transferring to Clemson following a stellar 2024 season at Southeast Missouri State.

Smith was one of the stars of Clemson’s annual Orange & White Spring Game on April 5, when he reeled in five catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.

“Offensive side, I would say Tristan Smith,” Klubnik said. “I can’t believe he went JUCO. He’s a dude that he can go up and get the ball, but he’s an elite route-runner. Best part about his game is his hands. He does not drop the ball, and to do that, that’s elite. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, how good of a route-runner you are, how much separation you can get – if you can’t catch the ball when it’s in your area, you’re not going to play.

“And he can go up and get the ball and catch in-breaking routes, out-breaking, go up and get the high ball. He had one ball he got up probably 10, 11 feet, the ball was up in the air and he went and got it. So, he’s definitely been super exciting and really fun.”