Ken Ruinard USA Today Network
Clemson QB Cade Klubnik Was 'Ready' for College Debut
Cade Klubnik's collegiate debut was a memorable one.
The freshman quarterback entered Monday night's season-opening win over Georgia Tech late in the fourth quarter, and with Clemson already holding a 34-10 lead.
Klubnik would then lead the Tigers on a 10-play, 66-yard drive, in which the quarterback went 4-for-6 passing while capping it off with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Will Taylor.
"I was like, sweet, let's go," Klubnik told the media on Wednesday. "And I was ready."
"It was so fun, it was great to just finally be out there. I've always dreamed of playing college football and I remember just thinking to myself man, I've been dreaming of this for a very long time."
After arriving on campus in January as the number one quarterback prospect in the country, Klubnik's debut had been months in the making, and there was one lesson the young quarterback took away from his only drive of the night.
"Just enjoy every moment," he said. "You know, I was just so thankful to be able to go out there and just play. I think I just approach it with joy and thankfulness to be able to play."
The coaching staff had always maintained that Klubnik had earned playing time with his performances in the spring and in fall camp, but had been non-committal when it came to how much the quarterback might play and how soon. However, with Clemson up big over the Yellow Jackets, late in the fourth quarter, that time finally came.
"Coach Streeter and Coach Swinney had a plan from the start," Klubnik said. "We had some hypotheticals, but you just have to trust the flow of the game and that was really the plan. And DJ (Uiagalelei) had a great start, and just kind of went with it."
While some are pushing for a quarterback controversy, for now, Uiagalelei is firmly entrenched as Clemson's starter, and according to Klubnik, you won't find a more tight-knitted group of quarterbacks in the country. And whether he is running out there first or second, Klubnik is pulling for Uiagalelei as hard as Uiagalelei has been pulling for him.
"So awesome just have a guy like that kind of have my back," Klubnik said. "You know, hopefully, he knows I've had his throughout the whole process. Just through all the stuff that he's been through, and he's an incredible guy and also an incredible quarterback. So it's been so fun to just kind of go through it all with him."
"I think quarterbacks will always get way too much praise and way too much hate. And just what he's been able to do in the past eight months since I've been here and how people were talking about him last season, it's been super awesome to see how much he's worked. I mean, it shows definitely."
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