Thoughts, analysis on Clemson commits, targets at The Opening

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Clemson quarterback commit Cade Klubnik and receiver commit Adam Randall converged onto the West Coast this weekend for a pair of major showcases.

Klubnik participated in the Elite 11 and Randall was one of 70-plus skill position players to earn an invitation to The Opening Finals.

Klubnik and Randall were joined at the events by two of Clemson’s top targets in the 2022 class – running back Trevor Etienne and tight end Oscar Delp. All four played for the same 7-on-7 team during the final two days and were able to get some quality face time together throughout.

Each player turned out to be one of the top performers at their respective positions. It was all highlighted by the breakout performance of quarterback Cade Klubnik. The four-star commit out of Westlake (Austin, Texas) won the Elite 11 MVP, an honor recently won by Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields and Spencer Rattler.

ClemsonSports.com is breaking down what we saw out of the two future Tigers and two who could join them down the line in Clemson’s 2022 cycle.

Cade Klubnik blows up, wins Elite 11 MVP

It was about 25 minutes after Cade Klubnik was honored with the Elite 11 MVP in front of his other 19 fellow quarterbacks when he was approached by Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

“It was a really special moment when I won this a couple years ago,” Stroud told Klubnik and his parents as the two quarterbacks dapped up, introduced themselves and laughed before taking a photo together.

“Just be ready for all the hype that’s coming.”

Stroud was a supremely underrated three-star prospect with less than 10 Power-5 offers when he won Elite 11 MVP in 2019. His recruitment blew up after that, his reputation went through the roof, and he climbed his way into borderline five-star territory before finishing as the nation’s No. 2-ranked quarterback.

Firmly committed to Clemson, Cade Klubnik won’t have to worry about earning any offers, and he certainly wasn’t off the maps by any means. He was already in the top 65 overall and No. 6 at quarterback, after all.

Your 2021 Elite 11 MVP, @CadeKlubnikQB! pic.twitter.com/JfpxiMwMHW

— Elite11 (@Elite11) July 3, 2021

But it was the type of performance that is bound to bring a ton of attention to the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder. So Stroud let him know what’s on the horizon. It didn’t take long. Klubnik checked his phone moments later, and he nearly got a thumb cramp from sliding to the bottom of his notifications.

The leader of this Clemson class is not typically one of the first names brought up when talking about the nation’s best quarterbacks. That’s usually reserved for five-stars Quinn Ewers, Walker Howard, Ty Simpson or Conner Weigman.

Klubnik, however, planted his flag in the turf from Day One of the Elite 11 as the most impressive, consistent quarterback. On the second day, he finished third in the Pro Day competition with a score of 47 points out of a maximum of 50 points and followed that up by comfortably winning the Golden Gun Accuracy Challenge. Klubnik ended the contest by leading his team to The Opening Finals championship in the 7-on-7 portion of the event.

Top to bottom, Klubnik’s three-day performance was the most impressive, and by Friday it was a foregone conclusion among those in attendance that it was Klubnik’s award to lose. It was a hell of a three-day run for a player who understands he’s often overlooked.

“I’ve just always kind of seen myself as the underdog,” Klubnik told ClemsonSports.com, acknowledging that this next week could be pretty hectic after his big weekend. “It’s happened a few times before, like winning state. And I got like 2,000 followers after North Shore (in the state semifinals) and then another 3,000 after winning state. But I don’t really care.”

And that’s not just lip service. It’s pretty obvious to tell he doesn’t care about getting extra attention. He flies under the radar among the nation’s elite. But by consistently showcasing his pinpoint accuracy, underrated athleticism and his ability to command a group of his peers that are some of the nation’s best, he more than proved he belongs in that same category.

If he doesn’t get ranked as a five-star prospect after this weekend, he’s sure to come pretty close.

Trevor Etienne gets perfect pitch from Clemson

On the final play of the week, in the championship game of the 7-on-7 tournament, the design of the game-winning play was colored in with purple and orange.

Needing a first down to seal the title, Klubnik called a hot route. Instead of running the originally planned Texas route across the middle of the field, Klubnik looked to Trevor Etienne and told the Jennings (La.) running back to run a wheel route.

Etienne, the younger brother of former Clemson star Travis Etienne, did as his quarterback told him. As soon as he crossed the line of scrimmage after the snap, Etienne was matched up in single coverage on five-star cornerback Domani Jackson, the No. 2-ranked player at his position and No. 4-ranked overall player in the 2022 class.

Etienne went up in traffic, twisting and contorting his body to snag a beautiful catch while being draped and dropped to the ground by Jackson.

Game. Blouses.

In a roar that burnt a hole in the stadium, Etienne’s entire team sprinted over and mobbed him like he had just nailed a game-winning three-pointer in the NBA Finals. It was a pretty raucous scene to provide an explosive end on Fourth of July weekend.

“Cade told me to run a wheel route, and that was all I needed,” Etienne said. “That was crazy (getting mobbed). I love those guys. I had a great time with those guys all week.”

That wasn’t the lone impressive catch Etienne made this week. Several times during the 7-on-7 tournament, Etienne released out of the backfield for wheel routes, quick outs and short routes across the middle.

At 5-foot-9, 210 pounds, Etienne is shorter than his brother but much thicker than Travis was at this stage of his career. Etienne looks a bit like a powerful bowling ball type of back, but his pass-catching ability was hard to ignore.

Etienne is one of just two uncommitted running backs with offers from Clemson right now. Whether or not he winds up as the running back in the Tigers’ class remains to be seen, but the family lineage won’t play a big part, he says.

“My brother just says do whatever’s best for you,” Etienne said. “Don’t make your decision based off of me because he doesn’t have to go to Clemson. It’s my decision. So (Clemson is) just like, if you’re rockin’ we’re rollin’.”

Adam Randall one of strongest receivers in the country

Outside of the Cade Klubnik MVP and the game-sealing play by Trevor Etienne, the biggest highlight in the world of Clemson recruiting from the event came via Adam Randall.

The Tigers receiver commit climbed up for a slick one-handed catch on the Friday night 7-on-7 session, showcasing why the Clemson staff is excited to bring in the sure-handed Myrtle Beach (S.C.) native. 

At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Randall clearly fits the mold of a future outside receiver. He’s a thick, muscular player whose strength all week was, well, his strength. His size brought for an instant double take. He should be able to box out smaller defensive backs in college, and he was imposing over most of the event’s defensive backs. He’s only going to get bigger and stronger from here.

Oscar Delp flashes consistent hands

West Forsyth (Ga.) tight end Oscar Delp has long been near the top of the Tigers’ wish list at tight end in the 2022 class. It’s easy to see why after this week.

He wasn’t used as often as his receiver teammates during 7-on-7 while driving down the field. Delp, however, was a useful weapon in the red-zone and especially inside the 10-yard line. He caught a pair of touchdown passes against a defense featuring a heavy dose of Ohio State in commit C.J. Hicks, plus two high-caliber players whom the Buckeyes are favorites for (five-star cornerback AJ Harris and four-star safety Xavier Nwankpa) and a borderline five-star who was once committed to Ohio State (Dasan McCullough).

Delp was matched up with Hicks in one-on-one coverage in the slot a few times, and each won a rep when the ball was thrown their way, with Delp getting behind Hicks for a 10-yard gain and Hicks knocking a pass away. Delp later showcased his ability to box out in the end zone by muscling his way into a 5-yard touchdown pass in traffic between two defenders. He later did similar when he hauled in a two-point conversion pass.

He didn’t get many opportunities for catch-and-runs in the open field, but he was impressive in the areas of the field where it mattered the most.

ClemsonSports.com will have more from Klubnik, Etienne, Randall and Delp throughout the week.