Clemson OC Garrett Riley Reflects on Cade Klubnik's Tiger Tenure

For every season that Clemson Tigers offensive coordinator Garrett Riley was coaching the offense, senior Cade Klubnik was his quarterback.

The two will see their relationship come to an end in just a few weeks, but Riley spoke on the growth that he was able to see out of his third-year starting quarterback over the course of his collegiate career.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Riley highlighted how over the course of his career, Klubnik got better at putting the bad plays behind him, focusing on the next play, which caused him to end up being successful.

“I think that’s the kind of thing I’ve learned of being with Cade is ‘Hey dude, let’s just stay the course here. Let’s push through. Let’s get over it. Let’s have a short-term memory, you know, and I think if you do that, you’ll continue to grow and make the plays,’” Riley said, “which is what he’s done.”

When Klubnik takes the field on Saturday against Furman, it will be his 47th game played for the Tigers, tying the most games played for a quarterback with Clemson great Tajh Boyd. While all of the games have not been the nicest to him, being 24-13 in games as a starter for the Tigers, Riley has seen the mindset that Klubnik has had throughout his career.

The Clemson offensive coordinator gives credit to the senior’s mental toughness throughout an unusual time in the program, which has fallen short of making the College Football Playoff in two of his three seasons.

“I think just through all the ups and downs and adversity, whatever for his whole career, I mean, that dude has got a lot of mental toughness and belief in himself,” Riley said, “and that’s what is great to see, especially at that position, is just a person that can truly move on, forget about it, and stay the course and find a way to go execute later on.”

There are a lot of similarities between the two, including a background from the state of Texas. Klubnik, an Austin, Texas, native, and Riley, a Muleshoe, Texas, native, have been on the same wavelength at times that has seen Clemson’s offense explode with points. The Tigers averaged 34.7 points last season, being fourth in the ACC in points scored per game.

However, Clemson’s three seasons with Klubnik at the helm have seen a lot of ups and downs, which Riley believes is the most important lesson that his quarterback learned throughout his time at the school: being steady.

“I just feel like probably just a steady personality, a steady presence for him, you know, through the highs and the lows, has probably been good for him, is what I would say,” the offensive coordinator said. “You know, and I think he’d probably echo the same thing. So, I just think that the consistency of somebody that’s going to be there to teach him and pick him up or whatever, I think that’s probably, you know, hopefully something that he’s felt, you know, along the way.”

As Klubnik plays his final game in Memorial Stadium this weekend, Riley expressed the love that he had for his quarterback, saying he’s a guy “we’ve gone through it together”. The two will have a lifelong connection, and he believes that the senior will be successful in whatever endeavor comes next.

“He’s going to be one of those guys that’s going to be successful no matter what he does in the future, and our relationship will be a long-lasting one,” Riley said. “No doubt about it, so I’m sure it will be a little bit of a surreal moment for me as well, just kind of seeing him, you know, for the final time in Death Valley, for sure, in a jersey.”

Clemson’s Senior Day game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. from Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the CW Network.