CLEMSON – The first time Cade Klubnik came to Memorial Stadium, he was virtually invisible. 

In 2021, a period when the majority of college football recruiting was held over blurry phone meetings, the quarterback and his family decided they wanted to see the fabled South Carolina village that produced two recent national championship teams outside of a FaceTime call.

Before Klubnik was offered a scholarship to play quarterback for head coach Dabo Swinney, the trio made a 1,000-mile trip from Austin, Texas to Clemson to watch a game, immerse themselves in the game day atmosphere, and meet locals.

Klubnik and his father, Tod, sat downtown and talked with students and locals, all of whom were unaware that the high school kid eating across from them would be the Tigers’ starting quarterback for three years.

“My dad and I started talking to students and workers around here, and I said, ‘This place is really special,’” Klubnik said, looking back on the visit. “Meeting strangers that don’t have anything to do with who I’m going to be around every day, I could tell there was greatness around here.”

Although Klubnik was unable to meet with any future coaches on the visit, the trip solidified one thing: Cade Klubnik was going to be a Clemson Tiger. 

Over four years later, with two ACC Championships, 38 starts, and 73 touchdowns under his belt, Klubnik played his very last home game as a Tiger in the 45-10 win over Furman at Memorial Stadium Saturday night. 

His final exit, unlike his first trip to Clemson, was anything but invisible.

Klubnik had a lot of “lasts” Saturday. He walked his final Tiger Walk two hours before the kickoff, suited up in Clemson’s orange-and-purple locker room for the last time, and ran down the hill to his last start at Memorial Stadium.

After running down the hill for the final time in a Clemson uniform, Klubnik followed it up with a fast start: four scoring drives, two touchdown passes, and 159 yards in a little over one quarter. 

As quickly as the signal-caller and the Tigers put up a solid lead on the Paladins, time slowed after a second-quarter timeout was called.

With 12:15 to play in the half, Death Valley grew more deafening with each passing second as pockets of fans across the stadium realized that Klubnik was headed to the sideline. The three-year starter concluded his home career as backup Christopher Vizzina trotted on to the field.

Earlier in the week, in a Wednesday press conference, Klubnik told media members he was not sure what emotions he expected to feel during his final home performance.

“I think just a lot of joy — a lot of gratefulness,” he said. “I think a combination of those two, and probably some emotions as well. Just looking around at the guys that I’ve been able to play with the past four years. I’m not really going to plan any emotions, I’m just going to let it happen.”

Although Klubnik did not plan what to feel on his Senior Day, the veteran’s emotions were on full display as Clemson fans gave him a salute on Military Appreciation Day.

While Tiger fans rang out their support, Klubnik pointed up at the sky, tears staining his eyes, admiring the stadium, city, and people that he has called home for the last four years.

As he walked to the sideline, an era concluded at Clemson.

“Oh man, that was a really cool moment,” Klubnik said after the game. “It meant a lot, I don’t really have the words to describe it. I feel like I’ve given everything I have in the last four years, and there’s been so many great moments and tough moments too. But just being able to walk off that field one last time and have the support of everyone, it meant a lot.”

In the Klubnik era, the Tigers advanced to their first College Football Playoff since 2019, won two league championships, and the program will have played in the postseason in each year of his career. With the win on Saturday, Klubnik became the sixth Clemson quarterback since World War II to win 25 career games as a starter.

Safe to say, it would be hard for the Klubnik family to go eat in downtown Clemson unnoticed, now five years after that initial visit.

Photo by Bart Boatwright