Freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik reflects on dream-like Clemson debut
Cade Klubnik was walking onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday night, his first snaps as a college quarterback imminent, when the moment hit him.
“Man,” he thought, “I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time.”
Two days later the true freshman was still riding the high of his Clemson football debut, a fourth-quarter touchdown drive against Georgia Tech in which he flashed his talents and, at least to some national observers, gave the No. 5 Tigers even more of a 2022 quarterback controversy.
“It was so fun,” Klubnik said Wednesday, speaking with reporters for the first time since he enrolled at Clemson in January. “It was just great to finally be out there. I’ve always dreamed of playing college football … it was really fun to be out there and live it for a little bit.”
Klubnik subbed in for starter D.J. Uiagalelei on Clemson’s final possession and executed a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive in the Tigers’ 41-10 win.
Playing in front of a primetime ESPN audience, the former five-star recruit completed four of six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown and added a four-yard rush on his only drive of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
Starting quarterback Uiagalelei finished 19 of 32 for 210 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions and added 19 net yards, one rushing touchdown and one fumble on the ground.
Uiagalelei was effusive in his praise of Klubnik postgame, saying that his current backup is “going to be a baller at Clemson.” Klubnik said Wednesday that Uiagalelei’s comment was another example of a Tigers quarterback room that has “no tension” whatsoever.
“So awesome to have a guy like that have my back,” Klubnik said. “Hopefully he knows I’ve had his throughout the whole process. Throughout all the stuff he’s been through, he’s an incredible guy and also an incredible quarterback. It’s been so fun to go through it all with him.”
Klubnik, the No. 1 quarterback and No. 6 composite recruit in the class of 2022, enrolled at Clemson in January after a distinguished career at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.
He went 27-0 as starter and led Westlake to back-to-back state championships in Texas’ top classification and ended his prep career with 86 touchdown passes against seven interceptions.
As a senior last fall, the Elite 11 MVP completed 71.3% of his passes for 3,251 yards, 43 touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 465 yards and 12 more touchdowns.
The 18-year-old Klubnik drew rave reviews throughout preseason camp, with coaches and teammates praising his leadership, poise and speed from the quarterback position, while maintaining that Uiagalelei remained Clemson’s starter after a poor 2021 season.
“I think quarterbacks will always get way too much praise and way too much hate,” Klubnik said. “What (Uiagalelei’s) been able to do over the past eight months since I’ve been here after how people were talking about him last season, it’s been super awesome to see how much he’s worked. It shows, definitely.”
Coach Dabo Swinney has likened Klubnik’s situation to that of Uiagalelei when he backed up future No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence in 2020 as a true freshman.
Klubnik said Swinney and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter had some “hypothetical plans” where he would have played earlier against Georgia Tech. But those didn’t supersede the main plan, which, as Swinney detailed in preseason camp, was for Clemson to start Uiagalelei and find game-by-game opportunities for Klubnik to play.
“You’ve just got to trust the flow of the game,” Klubnik said. “That was really the plan. D.J. had a great start and we kind of just went with it.”
With manageable home games against Furman and Louisiana Tech on deck the next two Saturdays, the freshman’s certainly in position for more reps.
His biggest Week 1 takeaway leading into that?
“Just enjoy every moment,” Klubnik said. “I was just so thankful to be able to go out there and just play. I think I just approach it with a joy and thankfulness.”
Next Clemson game
Who: Clemson (1-0) vs. Furman (1-0)
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson
TV: ACC Network
Line: Clemson by 44.5
