Clemson QB Cade Klubnik Being 'Overloaded' With Reps During Spring Practice

Clemson offensive coordinator, Brandon Streeter, says the coaching staff has overloaded freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik with reps during his first spring practice.

So far, Cade Klubnik appears to be living up to the hype.

Nine practices into his first spring at Clemson, the freshman quarterback has been everything the coaching staff hoped he'd be.

"He's been very, very good," offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said after the Tigers' first scrimmage of the spring. "I mean, it doesn't surprise me at all. You know, he's a very smart kid."

The first spring can be a little overwhelming for some midyear enrollees. However, Klubnik has handled the transition from high school to college smoothly, according to Streeter.

"It's always a big test for these young guys that come in here mid-year," Streeter said. "And they come in here for a month and a half of school and then all of a sudden, bam, here comes spring practice. So it's a lot of being overwhelmed early on. He has handled it very, very well."

With DJ Uiagalelei back at quarterback for the Tigers, there is no reason to rush Klubnik--Uiagalelei is in the top-5 Heisman candidates for 2022, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.  Every quarterback learns at their own pace, with Streeter noting that footwork is something young players at the position tend to struggle with at times.

"There's always going to be something early on in the process of learning the learning curve, you know," Streeter said. "Footwork is usually the one that is lacking the most. Because they're trying to piece together footwork, concepts, and protection, it's just a lot to think about and sometimes they just lose focus on their footwork."

However, the coaches have also had the luxury early on in the spring of getting Klubnik a lot of work. The freshman has seen a lot thrown at him in a short amount of time already, and according to Streeter, last season's MaxPreps Player of the Year has handled it exceptionally well. 

"So that's something that will always improve in a player, especially the more he gets reps. So we overloaded him a lot with reps, which is what he needs. He needs a ton of reps so that he can go make mistakes, and then we can go and learn from it. And he's done a really, really good job and that's what stood out to us."

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