Dabo Swinney proud of what he’s seen from Cade Klubnik

The Clemson Tigers football program has just wrapped up their 2024 spring practices, and so far, head coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t believe that he knows what his offense will be this upcoming season. However, while he has some question marks about the unit in its entirety, there is one area in particular he is proud of the growth and development that he has seen. And that is with his starting quarterback, Cade Klubnik.

Following Clemson’s spring game on April 6, Swinney discussed what he has seen out of his starting quarterback and what areas he has grown in over the spring.

“I saw another step from him all spring; it’s a lot more than just today,” said Swinney. “I thought he did a good job today. Put some good drives together, made some good decisions. Some that maybe didn’t appear to be a good decision, just a simple play, but it was a great decision. As a coach, when you’re evaluating certain things, whether it’s situationally some things that he did, I’m proud of him. He’s been really, really good the whole spring … still a lot of work to do.”

The one area Swinney is the most impressed with when it comes to Klubnik’s growth is his decision-making. The Clemson head coach believes the struggles of last season helped his young quarterback develop and hone in on his situational decision-making process.

“I think the game just slowed down for him. Last year, you could tell sometimes he really wasn’t paying attention in some situations, wants to make every play … [last] year he was trying to get 14 yards somewhere,” Swinney said of Klubnik. “Today, in a third and 13 situation, he checks the ball down. Maybe you get the first down, maybe you get a fourth, and one or two, put yourself in a go-for-it situation. Those plays are huge, and that’s an area I don’t think he did a good job in, especially in the first half of last season; [it would] drive you crazy … so it’s good to see. That’s probably the biggest thing; his awareness situationally has improved. He’s just got some experience.”

As Swinney highlighted, there’s still plenty of work to be done between now and the start of the season. The Tigers still have fall camp to tackle before their first game of the 2024 season against one of the powers of the SEC, the Georgia Bulldogs. And that is when Clemson fans will get their opportunity to see just how far Klubnik’s development has gone during this year’s off-season against one of the premier defensive powers in all of college football.