It’s been made abundantly clear that at some point this season Cade Klubnik will be the quarterback behind center for Clemson football.
When and where that happens, is anyone’s guess, but I’m guessing sooner rather than later.
At one point in college football coaches liked to “script” scenarios such as this. “He’ll go in on the third, fifth and seventh series”, for example. Sometimes that worked, but what if the third series starts on your own 1 or you were down by 10 at that point?
I think the “we’ll figure that out” approach is the best, as long as it happens, which hasn’t always been the case in the past.
Game situations have gotten in the way of good intentions more than once and you look up and that game and season are done and plans forgotten in the urgency of the situation.
Theoretically, the Tigers will have ample opportunity to get Klubnik some early experience as 21 point favorites against Georgia Tech in the opener and even bigger favorites in weeks two and three.
Beyond that? Who knows.
As pointed out in the article linked above this is not a Lawrence-Bryant situation.
While the expectations placed upon D.J. Uiagalelei were immense – follow Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence – those placed on Klubnik could be seen as even bigger in some ways.
He is tasked with getting Clemson back to the Watson-Lawrence National Championship level by some Clemson fans, despite never taking a snap in a college game.
As the Clemson football season opener approaches the question of when Cade Klubnik plays looms large
I think Klubnik plays next Monday and he plays again against Furman and again against Louisiana Tech.
Beyond that I have no idea, as it certainly depends on how D.J. Uiagalelei and the offense performs and how the games go.
I’m not a big fan of two quarterback systems, realizing it has worked at times in the past, but those could be selective memory and anecdotal evidence at best.
Most fans want certainty, but to me the unknown is one of the best aspects of college football.
How the season unfolds is the beauty of the sport.
A lot of what we see over the next 4 or 5 months will be expected. But it’s the unexpected things that will happen that drive the sport, the fans and make it what it is.
Cade Klubnik will play in 2022, that’s for sure.
Klubinik’s canvas is blank, but the picture will begin to take shape soon.