After Being 'Thrown Into Fire' During Spring, Future Is 'Bright' for Clemson QB Cade Klubnik
Cade Klubnik isn't the typical freshman quarterback.
After enrolling early last January, the top-rated quarterback in the 2022 recruiting class wasted no time in impressing quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter as Klubnik quickly ascended to second on the depth chart.
“As a quarterback, when you come in in the spring, your first spring as a mid-year (enrollee), still supposed to be in high school, that’s a hard jump,” Streeter said. “There’s a lot to absorb. There’s a lot of new things going on. You’re trying to get acclimated to school, all those things.
"But we threw him in the fire quick. We wanted to get him as many reps as possible. Just so that he could gain that experience and really learn from his mistakes, and that’s what he did. He did a great job of once he made a mistake, just learn from it and not making the same mistake again."
Klubnik's arrival not only gave the quarterback room an immediate influx of talent but it's also provided a level of competition for starter DJ Uiagalelei that was not present a season ago.
The true freshman is also putting in the work off the field. Klubnik now weighs around 195 pounds after coming in at 179 and is already showing the characteristics that many great quarterbacks possess, particularly in the leadership department, making Streeter extremely excited about what the future holds for his young signal caller.
"He got better and better each and every day," Streeter said. "Very talented player. Gonna be a very very good leader on our team. Already is a good leader on our team. The future’s bright for him for sure. And he’ll just continue to get better.”
The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022.
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