Hometown Spotlight: Klubnik Returns Home to Face Longhorns

© Photo by Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Clemson junior quarterback Cade Klubnik is no stranger to playing in and excelling in big games in the state of Texas. 

As a junior at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas in 2020, Klubnik led the Chaparrals to a second consecutive state championship and was named the game’s offensive MVP. The following season as a senior, in his final game in the state of Texas before joining the Tigers as a five-star recruit, Klubnik threw for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead Westlake to its third consecutive state title. He finished his high school career with 7,426 yards, 86 TDs and was a three-time state champion.

While he has been a star on the biggest stage in his home state, the lights will never be brighter for Klubnik and the Atlantic Coast Conference Champion No. 12 seed Tigers (10-3) when they travel to the quarterback’s hometown to take on the No. 5 Texas Longhorns (11-2) in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 21. 

Leading the Tigers

In his second year as the Clemson starter, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior not only threw for 3,303 yards and 33 TDs (with only 5 interceptions), but helped navigate the Tigers through losses to No. 2-seed Georgia (11-2), Louisville (8-4) and South Carolina (9-3), and completed a 17-yard pass with three seconds left to set up the game-winning field goal to win the ACC Championship game 34-31 over No. 11-seed SMU (11-2) to advance to the 12-team CFP. 

For his career, Klubnik has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 6,844 yards and 54 TDs for the Tigers.

Klubnik’s 2024 Homecoming

Although Klubnik will be playing in the state of Texas for the first time in his college career and the matchup will be the first-ever game between the two national championship-winning football teams, it won’t be the first time he has faced Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers with high stakes on the line. During his first state championship run as the starter for Westlake in 2020, Klubnik beat Southlake Carroll’s Ewers, 52-34. 

© Photo by Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

This time, Klubnik will enter the matchup with Ewers (2,665 yards, 25 TDs) as the underdog as the Longhorns are favored by 10.5 points over the Tigers. However, the last time Klubnik was an underdog against a team from his home state, he and the Tigers proved the naysayers wrong by bringing home the ACC Championship trophy for the 22nd time in the program’s history.