Freshman QB Cade Klubnik ‘excited to get my moment’ in Clemson football comeback win
Former five-star recruit Cade Klubnik has long been “at peace,” he said, with the fact he’s backing up DJ Uiagalelei as Clemson football’s quarterback this fall.
“It’s not my time,” he said.
But for two quarters on Saturday it was, and the true freshman’s response in less-than-ideal circumstances delivered No. 5 Clemson a 27-21 comeback win over No. 14 Syracuse while reminding the team who’s waiting in the wings for the championship-hopeful Tigers.
After replacing Uiagalelei midway through the third quarter, Klubnik led Clemson on back-to-back touchdown drives that saved the Tigers from defeat and preserved their ACC record 38-game home-winning streak.
“It was awesome,” Klubnik said. “It was so fun … Coach (Dabo) Swinney, coach (Brandon) Streeter and that whole QB room, we prepare every week like every single one of us is going to start the game … just excited to get my moment.”
It wasn’t flashy, but it was the changeup Clemson needed after Uiagalelei had a season-worst three turnovers against the Orange with the ACC Atlantic Division’s No. 1 spot on the line Saturday afternoon.
Swinney said postgame Uiagalelei remains the starter for the Tigers (8-0, 6-0 ACC) but credited Klubnik for injecting energy in a “tough situation.”
“Sometimes the starter goes out there on the mound and doesn’t have his stuff that day and you’ve got to bring somebody else in there,” Swinney said. “He just gave us a different little pitch. I’m really proud of him.”
Klubnik, who’d last played in mop-up duty against Boston College two weeks ago, entered the game with 4:53 left in the third quarter. Uiagalelei had thrown his second interception of the game on Clemson’s last possession, and the Tigers trailed Syracuse 21-10.
Here’s how the Tigers’ next three Klubnik-led drives went:
▪ 15 plays, 80 yards and a touchdown. Running back Phil Mafah punched in a 1-yard score on fourth-and-goal to cut Clemson’s deficit to 21-16 with 13:46 left (Klubnik’s two-point pass failed). Earlier on the drive, Clemson converted a third-and-25 when a Syracuse defender pushed Klubnik out of bounds on a scramble well short of a first down and drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
▪ Two plays, 61 yards and a touchdown. Klubnik ran for 11 yards before star running back Will Shipley took a 50-yarder to the house and put Clemson ahead. Klubnik outran two Syracuse defenders on a scramble before hitting receiver Joseph Ngata in the back middle of the zone for a critical two-point conversion to give the Tigers a 24-21 lead with 11:26 left.
▪ Six plays, 22 yards and a field goal. Clemson drained the clock for over two minutes before turning to B.T. Potter for a 44-yard try, which he made to extend the Tigers’ lead to six points, 27-21, with 1:33 left. Earlier on the drive, Clemson converted a key third and 11 when Klubnik threw deep middle to wide receiver Beaux Collins, who couldn’t corral the pass in the end zone but got the benefit of the doubt with a Syracuse pass interference penalty.
In other words, far from the most statistically dominant performance for Klubnik (2 for 4 for 19 yards, six carries for 15 yards) but winning football nonetheless. With Klubnik in the game, Clemson outscored Syracuse 17-0 and used a game-ending interception by safety R.J. Mickens to secure a win.
“A couple of nice plays with his legs, missed a couple of plays, a couple of bad plays, too,” Swinney said. “But just overall, amazing experience for him to be able to go in and bring the team back. … He hadn’t played a lot. That’s a huge growth opportunity for him and for this team.”
The No. 2 quarterback recruit and No. 13 overall recruit in 247Sports’ class of 2022 out of Westlake (Texas) High School, Klubnik saw his most productive stretch since engineering a head-turning garbage time drive against Georgia Tech in Clemson’s season opener.
Ensuing (and forgettable) drives against Furman, Louisiana Tech and Boston College brought Klubnik a bit back down to Earth in what he described as an “up-and-down” freshman season.
And though it’s still not his time after Clemson’s Syracuse win — Klubnik, Swinney and offensive coordinator Streeter were among those to express their ongoing confidence in Uiagalelei amid his mostly resurgent junior season — the freshman quarterback could still appreciate the moment. Scratch that: He made sure he appreciated the moment.
“I was just thankful and having peace in that it was God’s timing and not mine,” Klubnik said, grinning postgame through smeared eye black. “But it awesome. I kind of looked up before the last two-point (conversion) and took a glance around and I thought: ‘This is pretty dang cool.’ ”
His time, if ever so brief.
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Freshman QB Cade Klubnik ‘excited to get my moment’ in Clemson football comeback win."
