Longhorns Country

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik & Texas Longhorns' Quinn Ewers Already Have A Storied Past

Quinn Ewers and Cade Klubnik are set for a Texas High School State Championship rematch in the first round of the College Football Playoffs
Thomas Krilowicz|
Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik loks out over the field after the win over Guyer in the Class 6A Division 2 State Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Dec. 18, 2021. Westlake defeated Guyer 40-21. Aem Westlake Vs Guyer 26
Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik loks out over the field after the win over Guyer in the Class 6A Division 2 State Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Dec. 18, 2021. Westlake defeated Guyer 40-21. Aem Westlake Vs Guyer 26 | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Texas Longhorns have been placed as the no. 5 seed in the new College Football Playoff format which puts them up against the no. 12 seed and ACC champion Clemson Tigers in the first round in Austin.

While the two programs have never met on the field ever, the starting quarterbacks of each team have some Texas high school history when they played against each other in the 2021 6A Division 2 State Championship.

For Clemson's QB Cade Klubnik, this is a homecoming, he was a hometown star, going 30-0 as a starter at Austin Westlake, while Texas's QB Quinn Ewers was the leader of Southlake Carroll, another well-known and historically dominant school in Texas high school football.

Since Klubnik grew up in Austin, some of his teammates from this team are now part of the Texas football team like defensive back Michael Taaffe and defensive lineman Ethan Burke.

The game was close heading into halftime, with Westlake leading 28-21, but the game was blown wide open by a 17-0 Westlake advantage in the third quarter which funny enough included Taaffe having an incredible interception on a Ewers pass.

Klubnik, Taaffe, and Burke ended up as champions, beating Ewers and Southlake Carroll 52-34, largely due to the disparity in the run game. Westlake ran for 320 yards on the ground compared to just 65 for Southlake.

Ewers finished with 351 yards, completing 23 of his 39 passes for 3 touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss. Klubnik passed less, but was more efficient, going 18 for 20 for 220 yards and a touchdown. He also added to the dominant run performance with 111 rushing yards on 17 attempts, adding two touchdowns in his effort on the ground as well.

And now, almost four years later, the two will play again, repping their college teams. While Klubnik was the favorite to win in high school, Ewers and Texas are currently favored to win with ESPNBet having Texas as -11 point favorites.

The game kicks off at 3 p.m. CT at DKR Stadium and will be aired on TNT.

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TJ Krilowicz
THOMAS KRILOWICZ

TJ Krilowicz is a staff writer for Texas Longhorns on SI. A current member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), TJ helped write press releases for the National Football Foundation over the summer. Other work that TJ does is working as an analyst for Texas Student Television. His favorite sport is basketball and his favorite team is the Dallas Mavericks.

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