Cade Klubnik's Rise and Clemson's Injury Woes

Welcome to the Locked On Clemson newsletter, your daily Clemson Tigers newsletter. I'm John Bivens. I also host a daily podcast on the Clemson Tigers called Locked On Clemson.

After a whole offseason of doubt, one great game has landed Cade Klubnik into the top ten quarterbacks of the college football nation ranking, and we're stoked about it. All last year and all offseason, all we heard was Cade Klubnik's not it. Even Clemson fans doubted him. I had my doubts too. He had a terrible game against Georgia, let's be honest. But then App State came out and broke records, with Cade throwing for over 300 yards, five touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns—all in one half. That game alone has now put him in CBS's top ten quarterbacks of the nation.

This list is obviously one that is very much a recency bias list. The fact that Northern Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton made the top ten shows that. But Cade's performance was undeniable. He picked himself up, dusted himself off, and dusted App State for 383 yards and seven touchdowns. I'm not buying in until he does it again against the best competition, but I'm also not a monster. He deserves to be on this list.

I think this game has truly put Cade on the map. Even a lot of Clemson fans are starting to believe. We put out a poll on our YouTube community, and a lot of people are saying they need to see more before they really mark it up. But Cade Klubnik has got to go. He's a good quarterback, and I'm sticking with what I said. The difference in Cade from week one to week two, and honestly, from last year to week two this year, is how they're coaching him. Last year, he was coached to be a game manager. This year, we saw him looking to make the big plays, looking for the explosive plays. If that keeps happening, Cade can do nothing but rise on this list. He has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and an early draft pick next year.

While Cade's rise is great news for Clemson football, there is some not-so-great news when it comes to the injury report. So far this season, we have seen four players get injured. Two, we have some good news on, and two, we have some not-so-good news on. Peter Woods and Tyler Brown are listed as day-to-day, which means they have plenty of time to get over their injuries before we play NC State next week. But Kobe McLeod and Caleb Nix are out for the season. Kobe is undergoing knee surgery, and Caleb, a reserve defensive back, is also out for the season. Missing these two players is a big deal, and it's something that is really going to impact us.

Despite these setbacks, I'm optimistic about our season. Cade Klubnik's performance has shown that we have something special going on. If he continues to be coached well and our injured players recover quickly, we have a good chance of making a strong run this season. Let's keep that Tiger pride alive and roaring. Go Tigers!