Jason Priester All Clemson
Cade Klubnik Named 2021 National Player of Year by MaxPreps
Cade Klubnik continues to add to his already impressive pedigree.
The nation's top-ranked quarterback, Elite 11 MVP and SI All-American candidate was named the National Player of the Year by MaxPreps on Tuesday. Klubnik joins current Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei as the only Clemson signees to ever win the award.
"Wow what an honor," Klubnik tweeted out. "Thank you to Westlake and all my teammates and coaches throughout the years!!"
Klubnik is a key member of Clemson's 2022 recruiting class, committing to the school in the spring of 2021 and officially signing with the Tigers during the early signing period. He is the fifth Texas quarterback since 2006 to be named to the top individual honor by MaxPreps.
He joined current Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei as the only two Clemson players to earn that award.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound player out of Austin Westlake led the Chaparrals to a 16-0 record in 2021, a UIL 6A Division 2 state title and the No. 2 spot in the final MaxPreps Top 25. He also led the school to a UIL 6A Division 1 state title in 2020.
It was the third consecutive state championship for Westlake, as Klubnik threw for 3,251 yards and 43 touchdowns while completing over 71 percent of his passes. The highly-touted prospect threw just three interceptions in 265 pass attempts and added 471 yards rushing to go with 12 more scores.
He finished his career undefeated as the starting quarterback for the Chaps and leaves as the school's all-time leader in passing yards (7,426) and passing touchdowns (86), moving past such Westlake greats as Drew Brees, Nick Foles and Sam Ehlinger.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has gone on record saying he expects Klubnik to hit the ground running when the Tigers open spring practice and has compared him to a young Deshaun Watson.
"(He's going to) hit the ground running," Swinney said during his Early Signing Day press conference. "So he'll be here, January 9. We'll start our offseason program a little earlier than we have the last six-plus years just because we were finishing earlier. So we'll get that rolling. These guys go in the offseason. We'll start the progression of teaching and installation and you know getting get the team ready for spring ball—which starts March 1. So yeah, I mean just jump right in and let's go."
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