Jeff Brohm details growth he sees in Cade Klubnik

The Louisville Cardinals are coming off a massive come-from-behind win over Boston College and immediately have another big game against the Clemson Tigers. There, head coach Jeff Brohm knows his defense will have its hands full with quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Ahead of that game, Brohm shared the growth he’s seen in Klubnik during his time as the starting quarterback at Clemson, praising him for how he’s worked through some struggles on the field.

“When it comes to Clemson’s quarterback, he’s continued to progress,” Jeff Brohm said. “Like every quarterback, he’s had a couple of little struggles along the way, which is good for quarterbacks, but he’s over the hump now. I think he’s thrown for 20 touchdowns, three picks, over 500 yards of offense five out of six games, or something like that, or six out of seven, I’m not sure, but he’s playing at a high level. They’ve built the offense around him and what his strengths are, and right now it’s clicking on all cylinders.”

Cade Klubnik is now in his second full season as the starting quarterback at Clemson. In 2023, he completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 218.8 yards per game with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 13 games. All of those numbers have improved this season. Through seven games, Klubnik has a 66.7 percent completion percentage for 262.3 yards per game. He has already thrown 20 touchdowns to three interceptions.

With those improved numbers has come more success on the field. Clemson went 9-4 in 2023, which was the most losses Clemson had in one season since 2011. However, with the improved play of Klubnik, Clemson is now sitting at 6-1 and looks like a competitor for the College Football Playoff.

“Once again, we have to stop a good quarterback,” Brohm said. “We’ve got to find ways to be better than we have and find ways to limit big plays and make them earn it. It’ll be important that we try and do that.”

Louisville, as Brohm pointed out, has seen plenty of talented quarterbacks already this season. That includes Cam Ward, Riley Leonard, Kevin Jennings, and Haynes King among others. With those talented quarterbacks across from them, the Cardinals are 73rd in passing defense, giving up 222.8 yards per game through the air.

In particular, running quarterbacks have given Louisville issues. This season, the Cardinals have given up 60 yards per game on the ground to opposing quarterbacks. That’s with sack yardage coming off a quarterback’s rushing total. For Klubnik, who has rushed for 32.4 yards per game this season, is also capable of taking advantage of that.

Clemson is set to host Louisville at 7:30 p.m. EST on Saturday night.