One Quick Thing: We shouldn't rush to judgement of Cade Klubnik and Clemson Football in 2024

Cade Klubnik’s journey to college football didn’t begin at the Elite 11 competition in 2021, but it is where the expectations for his career took off.

Klubnik was offered by Clemson in February of that year and he verbally committed in early March. He was ranked 155th nationally in the 247Sports Composite at the time, so he wasn’t an unknown by any stretch.

When he won the Elite 11 competition in June, his value skyrocketed. By the final rankings, he was 6th nationally and the highest-rated quarterback in the class after Quin Ewers reclassified.

Naturally, Clemson Nation's expectations skyrocketed as well. So far, Klubnik has shown flashes of that promise but has also had plenty of mistakes along the way.

This week, the Class of 2025 went to California for their Elite 11 and Klubnik participated as a counselor. He was very active during the sessions.

Watching Klubnik in this environment, it is easy to see why he won his competition.

He is confident and looks fundamentally sound. This just amplifies what many observers have already concluded about Klubnik: he has all the football tools but hasn’t performed well under pressure.

I’m not talking about the pressure placed on him by the outside world. Klubnik handles that very well. It is the one area where he resembles guys like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence the most.

It’s the pressure applied on the field by the opposing defense that puts Klubnik in a bad place mentally. It’s that kind of pressure that he doesn’t face in a competition like the Elite 11.

It's also not his fault. Sure, every quarterback must learn to handle pressure and make good decisions when it comes, but that is the secondary point of attack. The primary point of attack, of course, is blocking that pressure to give Klubnik a solid pocket, as well as the pass catchers who need to give him options.

Seeing Klubnik in the Elite 11 environment and how smoothly he operates is a reminder for me that he has the skills to be a very good quarterback, but he is never going to be a one-man gang. He is going to be highly reliant on the players around him.

I have faith that Matt Luke will be a positive influence on this offensive line. I have faith that the freshmen wide receivers will eventually make a difference for this offense. I also had faith that Garrett Riley would make a big difference for this offense in 2023.

The step backward by the offense in Riley’s first season reminded me that it usually takes time for someone to make a big difference. Guys like Watson, Lawrence, Chad Morris, and Sammy Watkins probably skewed my perceptions a bit over the last decade or so to expect immediate impacts instead of being more patient.

It took Brent Venables a few years to transform the Clemson defense. It took Dabo Swinney several years to build the program. Not everything happens overnight.

As a fan, I want to see Clemson defeat Georgia on opening night, but objectively I know this season will be a process for this offense, and specifically for Klubnik. I expect he will improve his personal performance with hard work this summer, but he will need the people around him to improve as well to meet his full potential.

The offensive line and his pass catchers aren’t going to work miracles at the start of the season, but they will crescendo throughout the year. As they improve, we should start to see Klubnik truly blossom into the talent that we all hoped he would be after Elite 11 in 2021.