MAILBAG: Bigger 5-star disappointment between Cade Klubnik, Conner Weigman, Miami, USC staying power, team I was most wrong about
Well that was quite an entertaining weekend of college football, right? Despite way too many FBS on FCS crime games, we still got plenty of quality matchups, a couple Top 25 showdowns and some eye-raising upsets. I’ve offered some early Week 1 overreactions and initial takes on what all we saw, but the Week 2 mailbag is another opportunity to get off some thoughts on various subjects.
As always, you can hit me up on X with a DM or tweet @JesseReSimonton or you can email me at [email protected] for all future questions.
Let’s roll.
Brian asks: Both Cade Klubnik and Conner Weigman were five-star recruits out of high school, but neither quarterback has lived up to such rankings. Who has been the bigger disappointment in your eyes?
That 2022 quarterback class is shaping up to be a historically bad crop of QBs: Of the 25 highest-ranked quarterbacks that cycle, only Klubnik (No. 1 overall), Drew Allar (No. 3 overall), Weigman (No. 4 overall) and Maalik Murphy (No. 12 overall and now at Duke) are even starters in 2024.
As for the specific debate between Klubnick and Weigman, there’s no definitive answer here. It’s more about your current perception of each quarterback.
For me, I haven’t viewed Klubnick as even an above-average starter during his entire career.
The most impressive performance of Cade Klubnick’s time at Clemson came in relief of DJ Uiagalelei in the 2022 ACC Championship. Dabo Swinney benched DJU for Klubnick, then just a freshman, who preceded to torch a bad North Carolina defense for 279 yards at 11.6 per attempt with one touchdown and zero turnovers. He also hurt the Tar Heels with his legs, adding 30 yards and a rushing score.
Only, he’s never come close to replicating a similar performance in 15 starts since. His 11.6 yards per attempt is by far the best of his career. Same for the 83.3% completion percentage. He’s been a total mess in Garrett Riley’s the Clemson offense and he looked broken in the Week 1 loss to Georgia (4.9 yards per attempt, totally uncomfortable against pressure).
Klubnick is what he is at this point: A 62% passer who is inaccurate downfield, makes poor decisions and turns the ball over too often. He’s been letdown by a poor supporting cast at Clemson, but he’s still failed to meet his lofty billing as the nation’s No. 18 overall prospect in 2022.
And yet, I’ll make the case Conner Weigman is actually my pick here as the more disappointing quarterback.
I’ve never been the biggest Conner Weigman fan, and I definitely raised some eyebrows this offseason when some very respectable CFP media folks opined that Texas A&M’s quarterback might be the best QB1 in the SEC — and could be the first quarterback off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft.
But I get the potential. I see more traits and raw talent (compared to Klubnick). The issues are availability, durability and productivity — which Weigman strikes out on all three.
He’s had a very complicated career to this point, playing three seasons at Texas A&M but starting just eight games due to multiple injuries (and completing less than 60% of his passes in half of them). In the highlight world of Twitter and Tic Tok, Weigman can have an individual throw or two that look awesome, but watch a full game and you’re left wanting.
2024 was supposed to be Conner Weigman’s coming-out party, though. Instead, he was seen puking on the sidelines during the second half of Texas A&M’s loss to Notre Dame, which seemed appropriate since Aggies fans probably felt the same way watching Weigman’s performance.
He was awful Saturday night. Notre Dame’s defense is fantastic, but Weigman missed open receivers, panicked in the pocket and threw two interceptions (which could’ve been as many as four). He finished 12 of 30 for 100 yards (3.3 ypa) and the worst passer rating of any quarterback in the country in Week 1.
Previously, Weigman’s calling card had been his ability to handle pressure. In 2023, he led all quarterbacks with touchdowns against the blitz before injuring his ankle against Auburn and missing the rest of the season. Against Notre Dame, he lacked total confidence though, and looked completely overwhelmed. Most concerning, even when he had time in the pocket, Weigman made errant throws to open receivers.
Perhaps it was just a bad night when Weigman was a bit under the weather against a tenacious defense? Maybe, but Weigman looked a lot closer to a quarterback who could get benched later this season than a guy who Jordan Rodgers dubbed as one of the “best quarterbacks in the entire country.”
Speaking of 5-star disappointments at quarterback…
From Swaggy P: DJU is Jarrett Guarantano … all the talent and measurables but just can’t make it work.
This was not actually a mailbag question but a response to a question I answered on Twitter X, but it was such a solid comparison I thought it deserved highlighting.
While not apples-to-apples, Guarantano and DJ Uiagalelei do share some real similarities. Both were big, athletic blue-chip quarterbacks who looked their best as freshmen and then steadily regressed to such extents by the end of their careers that their collective fan bases were chanting for the backup quarterback to come in the game.
Guarantano tortured Tennessee fans for four years. Uiagalelei was effectively run out at Clemson, had brief respite at Oregon State, and is now the face of Florida State’s disastrous 0-2 start to the 2024 season.
The Seminoles have all sorts of issues besides DJU, but make no mistake, watching Uiagalelei play Monday night was painful.
On Monday night against Boston College, the fifth-year senior looked like he couldn’t throw it in the ocean if he was in a boat in the middle of the Atlantic. He airmailed throws. He short-armed others. He had a sequence in the red zone where he missed back-to-back wide-open receivers. Later, he threw an interception where an FSU wideout was barely in the picture.
Uiagalelei finished the night 21 of 42 for 272 yards, one touchdown and one pick. Again, he isn’t the lone issue with the Seminoles right now, but unless there’s a body snatchers situation I’m unaware of, it’s remarkable that this is the same quarterback who shredded Notre Dame way back in 2020.
Nick asks: USC upset LSU and Miami pounded Florida, and now everyone is penciling in both teams for the playoff. Are we sure they’re even any good? How do we know this isn’t one of those “Texas is back” deals?
I believe Nick is referencing Joe Tessitore’s 2016 proclamation that ‘Texas is back!’ when the Longhorns upset No. 10 Notre Dame 50-47 in double-overtime, only to finish the season 5-7. (Also, Notre Dame went 4-8 that year).
But I don’t see the similarities, here.
Both USC and Miami look to have real staying power in 2024.
The Hurricanes should be the prohibitive favorites in the ACC. They might’ve delivered the fatal blow to Billy Napier’s tenure — and they did so with a short-handed offensive line and having star pass rusher Rueben Bain for less than 10 snaps. Cam Ward was sensational, their OL/DL is going to travel all season, and to his credit, Mario Cristobal didn’t get in the way Saturday.
Miami is ranked 12th in the latest AP Poll, but don’t be surprised if the Canes are in the Top 5 by the end of September.
There are more reasons to be a bit more cautious with USC (now ranked No. 13), but you can’t deny that the Trojans looked different Sunday night. Even if they’d lost to LSU, I think optimism would’ve been warranted.
They were bigger and faster. They played with obvious improvements in fundamentals and scheme. They’ve clearly emphasized tackling in practice! New DC D’Anton Lynn dared LSU to to be patient and march the ball down the field and convert in the red zone, and the Trojans managed to come up with multiple stops.
Meanwhile, Miller Moss operated Lincoln Riley’s offense like former Lincoln Riley quarterbacks not named Caleb Williams. He played within the structure of the offense and sprayed the ball around to the Trojans’ gluttony of playmakers at receiver and running back.
It’s just one game, but USC’s schedule looks much more manageable now after Week 1, and the Trojans do now boast a Top 15 win over an SEC school.
So I don’t know if USC is a playoff team, but 10-2 or 9-3 is absolutely on the table.
George asks: Which team were you most wrong about after the opening weekend of the season?
How about a twofer from the same game: Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech. It’s just Week 1, but based on the Commodores’ double-digit upset over the Hokies, I whiffed hard on Va. Tech (and clearly underrated Clark Lea’s squad, too).
In my preseason Stock Report, I had the Hokies among the teams I was most bullish on in 2024. I didn’t think they’d make the CFP, but I thought in watered-down ACC, they could make a dark horse run to Charlotte with the 5th-most returning production in the country.
They still can, obviously, but Saturday’s showing was alarming. Their offensive line was really bad (just 2.5 yards per carry, four sacks allowed), Kyron Drones struggled out of the gate early and Va. Tech’s defense couldn’t get a stop in the red zone (Vandy was 5-of-5). Slow starts have plagued this team the last two seasons, and the fact it was an issue again in Week 1 with so many experienced plays is concerning.
The Commodores are still unlikely to make a bowl game this season, so considering Va. Tech is slated to play at least 6-7 better teams the rest of the fall, Brent Pry needs to quickly prove Saturday’s no-show was simply a one-off.
As for Vandy, kudos to Lea, Pissin’ Diego Pavia and the rest of the Commodores’ program. No one saw them winning Saturday, and not only did they jump out to a 17-0 lead, but they fell behind and then rallied to win in OT.
This is a program that had all sorts of bad vibes during fall camp. The offense struggled in both scrimmages, the defense suffered multiple injuries to starters in the secondary and their best playmakers from the 2023 team transferred to Georgia (London Humphreys) and Colorado (Will Shepard).
But Pavia, who is part of the New Mexico State triumvirate now at Vandy (OC Tim Beck, former HC Jerry Kill), brings an exciting element to an offense that lacked all sort of punchiness the last two seasons. The transfer had 190 yards passing and two scores, and ran the ball 26 times for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Again, I doubt Vandy makes a bowl game with the likes of Mizzou, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, Auburn, LSU and Tennessee on the schedule, but the ‘Dores could hit their win-total over (2.5) before the first official day of fall later this month.