Clemson football has found its next elite quarterback in Cade Klubnik.
After Clemson football offered Texas quarterback Cade Klubnik a week ago, there were many people that jumped on Twitter to let him know he deserved to be more than someone’s second choice – honestly, they are correct, he does deserve more than that.
However, that isn’t how Clemson football operates.
Unlike SEC schools who tend to offer more kids than most schools, Clemson is very methodical in its approach, so much so that Stanford and Northwestern are routinely the only schools that offer less in a recruiting cycle.
However, not being Clemson’s first choice has worked out well for several Tigers under Dabo Swinney – most recently running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Trenton Simpson.
Etienne only got his offer after Cordarrian Richardson decommitted. Of course, Etienne went on to become the ACC’s all-time leading rusher despite never being the focal point of the Tony Elliott offense, while Richardson originally played at UCF and then transferred to Texas A&M. He left A&M in spring of 2020.
Like Travis Etienne, Trenton Simpson didn’t get a Clemson offer until late in the recruiting cycle.
Unlike Etienne, Simpson was a 5-star linebacker and among the most offered players in the country and was originally committed to Auburn. After Justin Flowe spurned the Tigers and headed to Oregon, Dabo offered Simpson, who almost immediately committed and signed with the program he dreamed of playing for.
Despite just three starts in 2020 for Simpson, he finished in the top three of sacks and tackles for loss as well as top 10 in total tackles – he did all that while finishing 15th among defenders in total snaps.
Cade Klubnik has all the intangibles Clemson football has become known for from its quarterbacks.
What do former Clemson football greats Tajh Boyd, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence, and DJ Uiagalelei all have in common along with Cade Klubnik?
All five of them had or are having elite prep careers.
Boyd, Watson, Lawrence, and Uiagalelei all won at least one state title while in high school and suffered very few losses. Not only has Klubnik won state titles, but he has done it at the highest classification that high school football has to offer.
While Klubnik was leading his team to a 14-0 state title in Texas, Ty Simpson was leading his high school to a 7-5 record and a first-round loss in the Tennessee football playoffs.
Being first isn’t always important, but the right fit will always be important when it comes to college athletics and Klubnik seems to have all the intangibles that the former Tiger greats have had. Champions do things that winners won’t and Klubnik seems to be willing to make the sacrifices that champions have to make and he isn’t worried about the conference patch on someone’s jersey.