Cade Klubnik says nothing has changed for Clemson in QB change

Clemson made a big change in one of the biggest moments of their season, throwing freshman backup quarterback Cade Klubnik in the fire during the ACC Championship. Klubnik came through for the Tiger’s helping lead them to a 39-10 victory, and will now get his first career start in the Orange Bowl when Clemson takes on Tennessee. At practice this week, Klubnik was asked what kind of feedback he’s been getting from his teammates since being names the starter.

“From guys talking to me, I don’t think really much has changed and I’m just trying to be me and that’s really it,” Klubnik said. “I’m not trying to change anything.”

Tiger fans are surely hoping Klubnik doesn’t change anything from his last performance after he completed 83.3% of his passes in the ACC title game for 279 yards and a touchdown both in the air and on the ground. His performance earned the starting job for the Orange Bowl, a job that’s now uncontested as the Tiger’s starting quarterback all season DJ Uiagalelei he now entered the transfer portal.

There’s certainly plenty of hype, anticipation, and both nervous and hopeful energy surrounding Klubnik’s upcoming first career start. Especially considering how well he performed off of the bench in the team’s biggest game of the season and him showing flashes of potentially being the next great quarterback at Clemson.

But for now, Klubnik will focus on being the same quarterback that ranked No. 1 in the 2022 class out of high school, according to On3 Consensus.

“I’m just trying to be Cade, the one that I was when I first got here on my first day, and I think if I just keep doing that then we’ll be alright,” Klubnik said.

Dabo Swinney praises Cade Klubnik’s future, cautions limited sample size

Cade Klubnik‘s electric performance off of the bench in the ACC Championship game was impressive, leading the Tigers to a 39-10 victory and fans wondering if he will be in line to be the next great quarterback at Clemson. Head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about Klubnik’s performance and trajectory moving forward following their title win.

“Well one game doesn’t make a career, he’s got a long way to go and a lot of consistency ahead to kind of be there,” Swinney said. “We recruited him with certainly high expectations and he’s coming in here he’s never lost a game as a starter, he won three state championships in high school, and now he’s come in here as a freshman and got MVP of his first championship game.”

Klubnik was a 5-star recruit out of Westlake high school in Texas, ranked the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the nation in the 2022 class according to On3 Consensus. The Tigers had high expectations for him, but probably didn’t anticipate him being a major catalyst in their conference title victory when the season began.

“So he’s a special talent and we knew that, we also knew he needed to develop some and he’s really put the work in. He’w worked on his body, he’s not quite 200 (pounds) but he’s right there and he’s really grasped things from an offensive standpoint. But I think he certainly has all the capability and all the tools to really be a great one and that’s what we felt like him coming into this program,” Swinney said.