By any statistical measure, Cade Klubnik’s 2024 season was a masterpiece. Forty-three total touchdowns against just six interceptions. A QBR that leaped from a pedestrian 55 to a scintillating 79, ranking among the nation's best. It was, by Clemson’s lofty standards, one of the most prolific seasons a quarterback has ever had in a Tigers uniform.
For Cade Klubnik, it was a good start. But it wasn't enough.
As the Tigers wrap up their 15th practice of a grueling fall camp, with a monumental Week 1 clash against LSU now less than two weeks away, their quarterback is driven by a single, all-consuming standard.
“I think that I had a pretty good year last year, but I want to be elite,” Klubnik said, sweat still beading on his forehead after practice. “I have a very high standard for myself, and I want to continue to chase that.”
That chase has defined Clemson’s offseason. It’s been less about celebrating past success and more about a quiet, intense focus on closing the gap between very good and truly dominant. The team’s mantra is simple and effective.
“We've just kind of put our head down and gone to work,” Klubnik stated. “That's kind of been this fall camp mentality, but really the whole year... just trying to work our craft, become the best us we can be.”
For Klubnik, that work has been surgically precise. He isn't just throwing to throw; he’s targeting specific weaknesses that he believes are the final barriers to elite status. The first is turning promising drives into points.
“Number one is just red zone offense,” he said definitively. “We want to live down there, but we want to score more touchdowns. We had a lot of good drives where we put down 12, 13 play drives and we end up in a field goal. So… ending up with touchdowns is big for me.”
The second is perfecting the art of the off-platform throw, turning scrambles into automatic completions. “Becoming an elite thrower on the run,” he explained. “Anything within 20 yards is, you know, I want that to be like a handoff.”
Of course, a quarterback is only as good as the weapons around him, and Klubnik is operating an arsenal. With a receiving corps brimming with talent and depth—from established stars to breakout candidates like Tyler Brown, who Klubnik promised will “show up and make some big-time plays for us this year”—a unique question arises: How does a QB keep all those mouths fed and all those egos happy?
Klubnik’s answer reveals everything about his maturation into a true field general.
“I don't think that's my job,” he said plainly. “My job is to manage the game, to create big plays, and to lead these guys... They're all happy, man. We're playing on a great team. They're all going to score a lot of touchdowns and have a great year. They won't have to worry about whether or not they're going to get the ball… because they're elite.”
It’s a cold-blooded, confident response from a leader who understands his ultimate responsibility is to the scoreboard, not the stat sheet.
That unshakable confidence was forged in the fire of last season’s College Football Playoff, specifically in a losing effort against Texas. In a game where the Tigers came up short, Klubnik found a new level, delivering what he feels was “maybe my best game of the year.” The loss stung, but the performance provided a new belief system.
“It just kind of catapulted this whole team with confidence and knowing that we can do it,” he said. “To have that playoff experience was huge.”
Now, with camp in the rearview and a national stage beckoning, Klubnik is ready. The fun-loving kid who can be seen joking around and coaching up Pop Warner players in viral videos has a razor-sharp focus. He’s put his head down, he’s gone to work, and he’s done chasing “good.”
He’s ready to be elite.