Cade Klubnik hadn’t seen DJ Uiagalelei in person since the latter left Clemson at the end of the 2022 season.
However, that changed after the 15th-ranked Tigers’ 29-13 win over Florida State on Saturday night.
Uiagalelei, who spent three years at Clemson before transferring away, and Klubnik, who took over for Uiagalelei as Clemson’s starting quarterback, shared a great moment on the field together following Saturday’s game at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
After the game, Klubnik spoke with the media about their postgame chat and what he told Uiagalelei, who was teammates with Klubnik for one season in 2022 when Klubnik was a true freshman.
“It was good to see him,” said Klubnik, now a junior. “I haven’t seen him since he left. Obviously we text every once in a while. But I just told him I was praying for his hand. But more than anything, just told him that I was thankful for him and thankful for the time that we had together, and just thankful for the things that he taught me and that I’m trying to carry out those things. It was great to see him.”
After leaving Clemson to play at Oregon State in 2023, Uiagalelei then transferred to Florida State ahead of this season, but was unable to suit up for Saturday’s matchup against the Tigers due to a broken finger on his throwing hand that he suffered against SMU last week.
Was Klubnik a little disappointed that he didn’t get the chance to play against Uiagalelei?
“It would’ve been fun, but I wasn’t really too focused on it,” said Klubnik, who completed 19-of-33 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 62 yards on 11 carries against the Noles.
Uiagalelei started 13 games for the Tigers as a junior in 2022, when he had an up-and-down campaign and ultimately lost the starting job to Klubnik in the ACC Championship Game before transferring to Oregon State.
Klubnik shined after taking over for Uiagalelei in the ACC title game, earning MVP honors while leading Clemson to a win over North Carolina. Klubnik then made his first career start in the Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee to end the 2022 season before entering 2023 as the Tigers’ full-time starter.
Now in Year 2 as Clemson’s QB1, Klubnik reflected on some of the things that Uiagalelei taught him and the biggest lessons he took away from Uiagalelei during their time together.
“Just stuff that really an older, mentor player, just his work ethic and the hours that he would put in and the way he watched the game,” Klubnik said. “The way that I saw him after practice – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, the last one at the facility, till 10 o’clock every single night – seeing those things, whether you notice it or not, his work ethic pushed me a lot and I try to bring that to the QB room and just wanting to do things that nobody else was doing.
“There’s just so many other things, the way he led and the way he loved on people. I’ve got nothing but great words for him, and hopefully he’s got a quick recovery.”