While Cade Klubnik’s statistics in Clemson’s April 6 spring game don’t pop off the page, head coach Dabo Swinney is very pleased with what he’s seen from Klubnik on the whole this spring and summer entering his second full season as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.
“He had a great spring. He really did. We don’t put a lot on the spring game, good or bad – it’s just one of 15 days, and it’s really the one day where everything is diluted,” Swinney said this week of Klubnik, who went 13-of-26 passing for 158 yards and an interception in the spring game.
“But we evaluate him on what we’ve seen each and every day, and even this summer (is) a part of it. He, in our eyes, has taken the next step that we need to see to this point. Now it’s gotta go happen on the field, and that’s what you want to see. That’s what it’s all about.”
A former five-star prospect and former Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, Klubnik had an up-and-down season as a first-year starter in 2023, but also flashed his potential during a year that he finished with a 64 percent completion percentage, 2,844 passing yards and 19 passing touchdowns with nine interceptions, to go with 182 rushing yards and four rushing scores.
Though Klubnik’s performance drew criticism at times in a season that some people saw as a bit disappointing, Swinney is confident Klubnik is “made of the right stuff” and believes he will take a big step forward as a junior in the upcoming campaign.
“He was a first-year starter, and we’re just so quick to crucify people, if you will, if they’re not some Johnny All-American the first time they step on the field,” Swinney said. “And if that was the standard, for especially a quarterback, there’s some of the best quarterbacks that have played college football, and even in the NFL, would’ve never happened. Guys get better, and it’s a developmental game.
“If you’re made of the right stuff – and you’ve got to have the talent – but if you’ve got the talent and you’re made of the right stuff, the right type of character, football character, work ethic, will to improve, then you’re going to get better, and he’s got all that. So, we expect him to take another big step for us, and he’s really not that far.”
Swinney pointed to former Auburn and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix – whose brother, Caleb, is a redshirt sophomore safety on the Clemson football team – as an example of a quarterback who struggled early in his college career but just needed time to improve and fulfill his potential.
“This guy was a sixth-year quarterback, and he finished (third in 2023 Heisman Trophy voting),” Swinney said of Nix. “His first couple years, there was not many people writing good things about him, and he’s a first-round draft pick (of the Denver Broncos in 2024).
“So, guys get better, and I think that we just have to be careful when we are so quick to – that’s why I’m hesitant with young players, to just want to put too much on these guys, because I know what’s coming if they don’t meet somebody else’s expectations.”
Klubnik has “really worked his tail off” this offseason and physically matured, according to Swinney, who said the biggest thing for Klubnik will be “minimizing the negative plays” this season.
“Just too many negative plays last year as a first-year starter,” Swinney said. “And what do I mean by that? Well, he had too many fumbles, balls on the ground. He took too many TFLs, tackles for loss that shouldn’t have been a tackle for loss. He took too many sacks, on him. So, those are things that you want to see him take a big step forward this year as a second-year starter. I think he will. We’re going to find out real quick in that opener (against Georgia on Aug. 31).”
Added Swinney: “But he’s worked hard, he’s really grown as a leader and we’re excited about where he is to this point, and we’ve got to go to work, man. Everybody’s got a lot to prove, and he’s one of them for sure.”
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