A former ACC and SEC head coach gave his takeaways from Cade Klubnik’s performance following the true freshman quarterback’s first career start in Clemson’s 31-14 Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee on Friday night.
During ACC Network’s ACC Huddle show, former Miami and Georgia head coach and current ACCN analyst Mark Richt spoke about what he saw from Klubnik against the Vols.
Coming off his MVP performance in the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina on Dec. 3, when he completed 20-of-24 passes for 279 yards and scored two total touchdowns, Klubnik went 30-of-54 passing for 320 yards with two interceptions in the Orange Bowl.
“I think the bottom line is Clemson has this young quarterback, and everybody saw what he did in the championship game and everybody got excited about this new piece of the puzzle, and they couldn’t wait to kind of put it on him because you felt like he could handle it,” Richt said. “Because he is a mature kid, he has prepared as well as you can prepare. But he’s still a rookie, and it showed (Friday night). I think he’ll learn from it, I think the team will learn from it as well.”
Richt was asked what his message to Klubnik would be following the tough loss in his first game as the Tigers’ starter.
“It’s just a game,” Richt said. “The reality is true, what Coach Swinney said – this will not define his entire career. It’ll be something to learn from.
“I liked how he continued to compete, even when the game was gone. Down 17 points, he’s still standing in the pocket, throwing strikes, getting hit in the mouth. Really impressed with the kid.”
Richt pointed out that Friday’s loss marked the first of Klubnik’s career as a starter, as the former five-star prospect went a perfect 34-0 as a starter at Westlake (Texas) High School. But Richt also noted “it’s a whole different world” in big-time college football like the Orange Bowl on Friday night.
“He’s 34-1 as a starter. He just won 34 games in a row, doing the things you just described – running around making plays, throwing balls down the field, making touchdowns, passes and runs,” Richt said. “It was a different breed of athlete than at Westlake High School over there in Texas. That’s great football, but it’s a whole different world. Against North Carolina’s defense, you got away with some things that you could not get away with tonight.”
Dear Old Clemson has a limited number of replica road signs to our store. These have reflective properties just like real road signs. Will Shipley, Tyler Davis and Antonio Williams have signed road signs with their numbers.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 
Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.
Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”
Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”
Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!
