National Analyst Says Klubnik Has 'Lot to Fix'

Clemson is banking on junior quarterback Cade Klubnik taking a huge step forward this season.

After taking over for a struggling DJ Uiagalelei in the 2022 ACC Championship Game, Klubnik lit up North Carolina as the Tigers rolled to a 39-10 win. For that reason, plus the fact that he was a former 5-star prospect and considered by multiple recruiting services to be the top quarterback in his class, expectations were high entering last season.

However, Klubnik was a model of inconsistency, particularly over the first half of the season, as the Tigers stumbled to a 4-4 start, which included dropping back-to-back games for the first time since 2011.

While Klubnik has been using the offseason to improve multiple facets of his game, On3’s Clark Brooks emphasized one particular area in which the signal caller needs to be significantly better.

“Stop throwing the ball into harm’s way,” Brooks said. “If you’re going to be a conservative Checkdown Charlie consistently targeting shorts, you don’t have that much margin for error, you cannot afford to give defenses mistakes.”

“The (Clemson offense) banks on being able to execute double-digit plays every single drive. You might not be able to get a lot of chunk plays, but if you’re just methodically marching down the field, then it works. But if you’re throwing in contested tight windows and you’re giving defenses chances to get you off the field, then it just completely nixes that operation.”

With Clemson being so conservative on of the offensive side of the ball, Brooks insists Klubnik’s decision-making must improve.

“He’s just absolutely got to stop putting the ball in harm’s way and be a better decision maker, where he’s not tricked and not overly pressing trying to find completions,” Brooks added. “Because I can get he might be a little frustrated as consistently running the five S‘s of conservative football: spot, slants, screens, stuff like that.”

However, the argument can be made that Garrett Riley chose to be so conservative due in part to some of the struggles Klubnik was having as he grew into his role as a starter, not to mention a banged up wide receiver room and an offensive line that struggled at times protecting the quarterback.

With Klubnik now having a full season as the starter under his belt in Riley’s system, as well as having a healthy group of wideouts that include two dynamic freshmen in Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore, the expectation is that the offense will be more efficient and more explosive in 2024. Plus Matt Luke is now coaching the offensive line, which should lead to better pass protection.

Although, despite all those things, Brooks is hesitant when it comes to Klubnik.

“He’s just got to add a little bit more teeth, and I don’t think he’s going to be able to do so, because last year, his deep pass rate was the lowest in college football, under 7%, So those are passes over 20 yards downfield,” Brooks said. “That’s just a way to add margin for error, just consistently targeting short again and again giving defenses the opportunity to get you off the field.”

“That’s why he is not inside our top 25 impact quarterbacks ahead of this season. So yeah, a lot to fix in that regard. He has a lot of perception to build upon this season to get people back in his corner.”

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