Riley Gives Assessment of Klubnik, Improvement at Halfway Point
By: Gavin Oliver October 12, 2023

At the halfway point of Clemson’s 2023 season, Cade Klubnik is having a solid campaign from a passing standpoint, completing 65.2 percent of his throws for 1,370 yards and 11 touchdowns with two interceptions in six games. The sophomore has added 120 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.

Klubnik has experienced some ups and downs in his first full year as the Tigers’ starting quarterback, but the former five-star prospect has shown improvement over the course of the season for the most part.

After struggling in the season opener at Duke, Klubnik had an impressive performance against Florida State, then took another big step forward at Syracuse in Week 5 before having what he called his “most inaccurate day” throwing the ball against Wake Forest last Saturday. On the bright side, it marked his fourth straight game without an interception since his last pick against Charleston Southern on Sept. 9.

Garrett Riley knows it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Klubnik, though Clemson’s offensive coordinator likes the strides his signal-caller has made overall to this point in the season.

“I thought he got better very quickly in the first month of our season,” Riley said. “Has he been perfect? No, but the kid’s a competitor… I thought he made some strides in a couple areas in this last game, but probably did some things that he definitely would want back in the Wake Forest game.”

Riley expects to see continued growth from Klubnik going forward as he gains more and more experience, with the young QB still having only seven career starts under his belt.

“It’s a position that man, you learn so much from each and every game and those experiences,” Riley said, “and it’s something that he’ll continue to learn from at a fast rate I anticipate.”

Following their open date this weekend, Klubnik and the Tigers (4-2, 2-2 ACC) will return to action at Miami on Saturday, Oct. 21.

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