In each of Clemson’s previous two games prior to Saturday, with the Tigers trailing in the second half against both Notre Dame and Syracuse, Dabo Swinney’s team turned to true freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik in hopes he would spark a struggling offense.

In Clemson’s latest game against Louisville on Saturday, Klubnik once again came in for DJ Uiagalelei in the second half. But this time, the Tigers had the game under control, leading the Cardinals by 14 points with less than six minutes left in fourth quarter.

It was the lone drive Klubnik played on Saturday, and he ran the ball one time for 13 yards, picking up a first down on the possession that ended with Will Shipley’s lost fumble.

The former five-star prospect from Austin, Texas, did not attempt a pass. But according to comments from Swinney and Clemson offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter after the 10th-ranked Tigers’ 31-16 win, they wanted to get Klubnik into the game for his legs and not his arm.

“We needed Cade to be ready, and as you guys can see, he’s got some really, really good feet and good wheels,” Streeter said, “and so we just needed a little bit of that just to try to get a couple first downs right there and get it going. He pulled the ball once or twice and got some good yards for us. So it was good that he was ready obviously, and just glad that he’s continued to respond to every situation.”

Streeter said there wasn’t any talk of Klubnik entering the game earlier than he did, and Swinney echoed that sentiment when asked if the Tigers thought about going to Klubnik following Uiagalelei’s lost fumble in the second quarter.

Still, although Klubnik’s only action against Louisville came on one six-play possession late in the game, Swinney liked the fact the Tigers had a chance to get him on the field as they tried to bleed the clock.

“I’m glad I was able to get Cade in there,” Swinney said. “I felt like especially trying to end the game – it was good experience for him, but I felt like we could maybe get him on the edge and at least get a big first down as we tried to milk the clock, make them use their timeouts there at the end. So, it was good to be able to put him in there too and get some experience.”

Klubnik has played in seven games this season, completing 9 of his 20 total passes for 85 yards and a touchdown with one interception while rushing a total of 13 times for 38 yards.

The nation’s No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 recruiting class played two snaps in relief of Uiagalelei at Notre Dame, with his only pass getting picked off.

One game prior, though, Klubnik entered in the third quarter vs. Syracuse and completed 2-of-4 passes for 19 yards while rushing six times for 15 yards, becoming the first backup quarterback to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback win for Clemson since 2018 (Chase Brice vs. Syracuse).

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