Cade Klubnik is under 'enormous' pressure in 2023

Cade Klubnik will be taking over the quarterback spot this season at Clemson. A lot comes with that gig, though, and, for On3’s JD PicKell, he hopes the sophomore is ready for the weight of the expectations that will fall upon him come the start of the season.

PicKell discussed the pressure on a few quarterbacks across college football in Thursday’s episode of ‘The Hard Count’. He said that conversation starts with Klubnik because of what Clemson, specifically their offense, hasn’t accomplished over the past few seasons.

“I think there is enormous pressure on Cade Klubnik. I have Cade Klubnik, on the pressure scale, as a 9.1 out of 10,” PicKell said. “Because how have we talked about Clemson over the last couple of years? They’ve got a lot of good pieces on defense, got some good skill players, maybe they don’t have the best receivers in the country.”

“But there’s been a lot of shade thrown at the quarterback spot with DJ Uiagalelei, whether it’s fair or not. There’s also been a lot of shade thrown at the offensive coordinator and who’s calling plays,” continued PicKell. “You make a switch at both those spots with Garrett Riley entering as the new OC and Cade Klubnik, being the all-everything out of high school player that he was in the state of Texas, taking over the reins.”

From there, PicKell said that conversation continues because of what Clemson has been in the past, especially with top quarterbacks. Considering their history, Tiger fans expect Klubnik to get them back to the pinnacle which, in PicKell’s eyes, comes with its own strain.

“There’s a lot of pressure right now. Because Clemson, similar to Alabama, is kind of on that climb back to the top of the mountain. And a lot of people are saying it can’t be done,” said PicKell. “A lot of people are questioning Dabo, a lot of people are questioning the formula internally at Clemson. And, for Cade Klubnik now, a lot of the eyeballs are going to be on him, as it always is if you’re playing quarterback at a big-time college football institution.”

“But, even more so, with what you expect from Clemson? With what we’ve come to expect from that brand and how they have played the quarterback position over the last couple of years? Going back to Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson. Going back to Tajh Boyd. Like, they usually have a good quarterback at Clemson,” said PicKell. “That wasn’t necessarily the definition of the position last year with DJ Uiagalelei and his ups and downs.”

In his handful of appearances in 2022, Klubnik threw 100 passes for 697 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. His performance in Clemson’s victory over North Carolina in the ACC Championship where he completed 20/24 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown on top of rushing for an additional score highlighted that freshman campaign of his.

Regardless of what happens for the Tigers this fall, PicKell says it’s all going to fall on Klubnik’s shoulder. The only question now is whether he lives up to the expectations or if things become even more pressurized over in Death Valley.

“I’ll just say this. For Cade Klubnik? Whether Clemson succeeds or fails? There will be blame shifted to him. And that’s just kind of how it is. Whether that’s fair or not? I’m not here to talk about that. But there is enormous pressure on Cade Klubnik,” PicKell said. “I’ll say this too. He has invited that by the performance we saw from him in the ACC title game. Like, we know this kid can play now, we know the ability is there. Can it all come together? Can he have enough help around him to get it done? That’s my big question mark with Clemson.”

“But the pressure with Cade Klubnik, I think, is absolutely there,” said PicKell. “And I think you welcome that if you’re a competitor and I believe Cade Klubnik is exactly that.”