Cade Klubnik not focused on Clemson future after College Football Playoff loss

The Clemson Tigers are coming off an emotional loss in the College Football Playoff to the Texas Longhorns. It’s a loss that, potentially, could have been the last for starting quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Klubnik was asked about his future following the game, but he shut down that discussion. Instead, he emphasized that he was focused on the emotions of playing his last game with the 2024 Clemson Tigers.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”

“I’m just trying to deal with the emotions of tonight,” Cade Klubnik said. “Just trying to deal with the emotions of tonight and I got to play my last football game with a lot of these guys. So, I’m not thinking about that right now. I’m just thinking about the relationships I’ve built over the last three years and that’s really what I’m thinking about right now.”

The reality in modern college football is that players have a decision to make every season if they want to return to their school or potentially transfer. That’s one of those choices that Cade Klubnik is going to need to make. On top of that, Klubnik just finished his junior season at Clemson, which means that he’s going to have the option to enter the NFL Draft.

Still, for the time being, the focus for Klubnik is going to be on the Playoff loss for the time being. It was an emotional game in Austin, Klubnik’s own hometown, as the Longhorns jumped out to a first half lead that the Tigers were never able to close the gap on.

During the game itself, head coach Dabo Swinney had been concerned about the defensive performance, even calling for that unit to be less feast or famine in the second half. To an extent, the defense met Swinney’s call and only allowed 10 second-half points. However, the damage was already done and the offense wasn’t able to close the gap in a 38-24 loss.

Cade Klubnik finished the game against Texas having completed 26 of 43 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. He also had an interception and five yards rushing on 13 carries. With that, Klubnik’s season ended with a 63.4 completion percentage for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

With the loss, Clemson’s season came to a frustrating end. Meanwhile, Texas moves onto the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff where the Longhorns are going to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl.