What Dabo Swinney said about Clemson QB situation after opener

ATLANTA — Clemson freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik received the first action of his college career Monday night against Georgia Tech.

It didn’t take the five-star prospect long to impress.

Klubnik entered the game with 5:02 remaining in the fourth quarter and led Clemson right down the field for a touchdown, completing 4 of 6 passes for 49 yards and a score.

Dabo Swinney spoke about the performance by his freshman QB after the game.

“He did an awesome job and sparked us,” Swinney said. “For Cade to be able to get in there and the moment not be too big, just poised, accurate. Made some great plays. Very good decision maker. Showed his aptitude and how he can process things.”

While Cade Klubnik impressed, it’s junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei who remains the Tigers starter moving forward.

The California native got off to a bit of a slow start but played well in the second half and finished with 210 passing yards and a touchdown.

“There’s nobody in America that had more eyes on him tonight than our quarterback, and I love how he responded,” Swinney said. “He led. He made some huge plays for us. Kind of best case scenario tonight — DJ had to kind of fight through some adversity and really show the grit and moxie. And he made some big plays, man.”

The plan moving forward is for Klubnik to continue to get opportunities behind Uiagalelei. He should receive plenty of playing time when the Tigers host Furman on Saturday.

“We definitely want to get Cade as much opportunity as we can within the flow of the game and within the flow of the season. So really proud of him and how he started. That’s going to be huge for his confidence,” Swinney said.

“Really glad it worked out that he was able to get in there as opposed to waiting another week to get your first snap. Now he’s got a taste of it, and not only that but on the road. Definitely want to get him as much opportunity as we can to develop some confidence and get him some experience.”