CHARLOTTE – Cade Klubnik’s first collegiate start didn’t go the way he or Clemson had hoped, as the Tigers fell 31-14 to Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.

Now entering his first full season as the Tigers’ starting quarterback in 2023, Klubnik met with the media at the ACC Football Kickoff on Thursday and was asked what he took away from the disappointment of the Orange Bowl loss that can make him a better player as a true sophomore this season.

“I mean, specifically talking about that game, we needed to finish drives. I think that’s what it started with, but I think honestly I’m just so proud of those guys for that game,” Klubnik said. “I think that game is going to push us to the places we want to be this year. It’s putting a little bit of a bad feeling in our stomach all year. Obviously we had a very successful year if you look at the overall picture of it – ACC Champion, 11-3 finish. That’s an amazing year, but to finish with a loss, it’s always going to leave something a little dirty in your soul.

“So, going into this offseason, it’s been great. I think it’s been helping us and a little bit more of a grittiness to us than I’ve seen before. It’s going to be fun.”

Clemson finished the 2022 season with an 11-3 record, including a perfect 9-0 mark in ACC play, and won the program’s seventh conference title in eight years. Tiger fans, though, aren’t just satisfied with another ACC Championship – they want Clemson to bring home another national title, which the program most recently claimed in 2016 and 2018 during an impressive run of six straight College Football Playoff appearances.

Klubnik was asked what he would say to people who feel like he “might not be the guy” to get Clemson back to the top of the college football mountain.

“Yeah, the reason I came to Clemson was for two things: It was for the culture and to win a national championship,” he said. “I believe that we’re going to be able to do that while I’m here, so…”

Klubnik enters 2023 having completed 61-of-100 career passes for 697 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions over 10 games (one start). The former five-star prospect from Texas also rushed 42 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman in 2022.

Before throwing for 320 yards with two interceptions and rushing 20 times for 51 yards and a touchdown in the Orange Bowl, Klubnik earned ACC Championship Game MVP honors against North Carolina after completing 20-of-24 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown while rushing seven times for 30 yards with another score on the ground.

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