It has been a down year for the Clemson Tigers football team and their senior quarterback, Cade Klubnik. The senior passer is still doing his best to play at the highest level that he can, given his injuries he’s suffered this season.
In ESPN writer Bill Connelly’s latest ranking of Power 4 at the quarterback position, Clemson’s own Klubnik landed at the 288th-ranked spot on the list. The last rankings from Connelly were released around a month ago, and those rankings had Klubnik ranked as the 54th-ranked quarterback in the Power 4.
“It happened too late to save Clemson's season in any major way (occasional rubbish from the defense didn't help either), but in October, Cade Klubnik officially became Cade Klubnik again…This will always go down as a massively disappointing season, but Klubnik did show up, at least,” Connelly commented on Klubnik.
Connelly also pointed out the drastic differences between Klubnik’s first four games and his past four games. Through his first four games, which led to a 1-3 record for Clemson, Klubnik had a 44.9 total QBR, 60% completion rate, 11.2 yards per completion, and a 2.7% interception rate. During the last four games, which led Clemson to a 3-1 record, Klubnik posted a 89.6 total QBR, 77.8% completion rate, 12.5 yards per completion, and a 0.9% interception rate.
Four ACC quarterbacks were ahead of Klubnik: Georgia Tech’s Haynes King (#2 rank), Duke’s Darian Mensah (#15 rank), NC State’s CJ Bailey (#20 rank), Pittsburgh’s Mason Heintschel (#25 rank), and Miami’s Carson Beck (#26 rank).
Klubnik has thrown for 9,316 yards, throwing 839-for-1,305 9a 64.3% competition rate) adding 71 passing touchdowns in his four-year career at Clemson. The mobile quarterback has also added 901 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground with his legs during his Clemson career.
It has not been the season that Klubnik and the rest of the Clemson team wanted this season, but give credit where credit is due, Klubnik is finishing his senior year as strong as he can, dealing with his injuries.