Dabo Swinney says Clemson hasn’t been in a situation yet this season where the Tigers felt the need to bench their starting quarterback, Cade Klubnik. However, Swinney didn’t rule out the possibility of that happening moving forward.

During his radio call-in show Monday night, Clemson’s head coach was asked at what point the Tigers might give backup quarterback Hunter Helms the chance to play.

“We haven’t been in that situation yet where we felt like it was warranted to bench him, if you will,” Swinney said of Klubnik. “That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen, but nobody on our staff offensively, (offensive coordinator) Garrett (Riley) – we haven’t had a situation where we’ve felt like OK, hey, we need to sit this guy down.”

Swinney says he has his “pulse on that all the time,” and “those are in-game decisions and in-week decisions.” But the Tigers are sticking with Klubnik as their QB1 right now.

“Cade is our quarterback, and he’s going to be a great one,” Swinney said. “These are some tremendous opportunities to really develop this young man and grow him. He did a lot of great things. He was 33-of-50 (against NC State last Saturday) and certainly missed a couple plays as well. But he gives us the best chance to win.”

Klubnik has started all eight games this season, completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,947 yards and 13 touchdowns with five interceptions. The sophomore has also rushed for 89 yards and three more scores.

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