Ahead of Friday’s Orange Bowl, Clemson’s offense has taken on a new face in starting quarterback Cade Klubnik. Though the true freshman took over for previous starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei in the Tigers’ 39-10 ACC Championship win over North Carolina earlier this month, Klubnik will be listed as the starter for the first time in his young Clemson career against Tennessee on Friday.
“He’s been great,” head coach Dabo Swinney said on Thursday. “It’s been a blessing that he’s had two, three weeks here to just kind of settle in and lead, but he’s really not any different. He’s just a kid that he’s always on, he’s always got a ton of energy, he loves to play, he loves to practice. He’s just one of those guys that really loves the game, so he’s embraced it and has done a great job with it.
“He’s excited about it; he’s worked really hard to get to this point and knows he has a huge challenge ahead. A lot more comes with it that he’s had to manage, but I think he’s done a good job.”
With his first career start in his freshman season, Klubnik joins a host of other Clemson quarterbacks who also saw their career at the helm start during their first season with the Tigers. Klubnik joins elite company in quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence and most recently D.J. Uiagalelei (two starts in place of Lawrence as a freshman), who Swinney identified as the perfect model in terms of preparation for the Texas native.
“He’s had a great example in D.J. and he’d be the first one to tell you,” the 14th-year head coach said. “D.J.’s one of the best preparers I’ve ever been around, so he had a good model to really see day in and day out since January. Mentally he’s been through maybe two or three games to bam, here’s your moment.
“He’s had a lot of game plans, he’s had a lot of corrections, he’s had a lot of weeks of practice and some experience to go with it, some good experience, some bad experience, to prepare him. All those things I think have made him well prepared for this opportunity.”
That opportunity to sit behind Uiagalelei for most of the 2022 season and watch what it takes to perform at a high level while also progressing physically is what Swinney says has prepared Klubnik for such a big moment as this.
“Probably more ready than they were, honestly,” Swinney said. “He’s had a little more time in the crockpot, and those guys had to be ready a little quicker. I think Cade, he’s still a work in progress, but he’s had time to physically get himself in a much better situation than he was when he got here at about 179 pounds. He’s almost right at 200 pounds now, so he’s progressing physically and is much better prepared there.”
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