Cade Klubnik Just Trying to Be Himself, Not Trying to Change Anything

CLEMSON — It might not be the College Football Playoff, but the Orange Bowl is pretty special for Cade Klubnik.

After taking over for DJ Uiagalelei in the ACC Championship Game, the true freshman is now set to make his first career start for No. 7 Clemson against No. 6 Tennessee.

While it has been a whirlwind of a week for the true freshman, Klubnik feels like he is already starting to settle into his new role.

"This week has kind of, I guess, made me realize I just need to settle in a little bit," Klubnik said. "But it's been fun, it's been awesome. Just really a dream come true and just I'm super excited about this team. I think we got a real shot going into this game."

As he settles into that new role, Klubnik is looking to make the transition as smooth as possible for all involved.

"I'm just trying to be me," Klubnik said. "I'm not trying to change anything. I'm just trying to be the guy that I was when I first got here on the first day. And I think if I just keep on doing that, we'll do alright."

After being inserted into the 39-10 win over North Carolina on Clemson's third offensive series, Klubnik was extremely efficient, connecting on 20-of-24 of his pass attempts, for 274 yards with one touchdown pass. His performance rejuvenated a passing attack that had struggled with consistency issues all season.

Heading into the Orange Bowl, Klubnik knows that the performance against the Tar Heels was just one game, and as he gets set to make his first start, he's just trying to take things one step at a time.

"Just taking it one play at a time, cancel out the distractions, just focusing on each play one at a time," Klubnik said. "Really just trusting the guys around me to make plays. We got the best players in the nation from the receivers, offensive line, definitely got the two best running backs in the country, without a doubt. So for those guys to have my back, it's so nice."

The former 5-star prospect and the top-rated passer in the 2022 recruiting class also added that having such a close-knit group of teammates makes the transition that much easier.

"So thankful for all these guys," Klubnik said. "I feel like this is a really tight group. I know it's my first year playing college football, but I don't think there are other programs like this as close as this group is. I mean there's not a guy that doesn't get along with anybody else. I mean everybody is... we really are just one kind of group."

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