'More Time in the Crock Pot' Has Swinney Confident in Klubnik

Since taking over following the ACC Championship, Klubnik has been exactly what Swiney thought he would be.

Zach Lentz | Dec 29, 2022

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DANIA BEACH, FL.– Head Coach Dabo Swinney said in the immediate aftermath of Clemson's ACC Championship Game victory that freshman Cade Klubnik's performance in reserve against North Carolina earned him the right to start at quarterback in the Orange Bowl.

Klubnik will become the first Clemson freshman quarterback on record to make his starting debut in postseason play. He will become only the eighth true freshman to start at quarterback for Clemson since the NCAA instituted permanent freshman eligibility in 1972, joining Steve Fuller (1975), Willie Jordan (1975), Patrick Sapp (1992), Nealon Greene (1994), Deshaun Watson (2014), Trevor Lawrence (2018) and DJ Uiagalelei (2020).

Since taking over following the ACC Championship, Klubnik has been exactly what Swiney thought he would be.

"He's been great. It's been a blessing that he's had a couple, two, three weeks here to just settle in and lead," Swinney said. "But he's really not any different. He's just a kid that he's always on, he's always got a ton of energy. He loves to play. He loves to practice. He's just one of those guys that really loves the game. He's embraced it, and he's done a great job with it. He's excited about it. He's worked really hard to get to this point and knows he has a huge challenge ahead. Just a lot more comes with it that he's had to manage, but I think he's done a good job."

Clemson quarterbacks have fared well in their starting debuts in the last two decades. This week, Klubnik will attempt to improve Clemson to 10-2 in first career starts by quarterbacks since 2002. It would make Clemson 28- 18-1 in debut starts for its quarterbacks since 1953. With a win, Klubnik would become the fifth straight Clemson starting quarterback to win his first start.

Over the last decade, Swinney has had Deshaun, Trevor, DJ all start as freshmen either early on in their careers or in the middle of their careers. However, Swinney believes that Klubnik is better prepared for the moment that is to come Friday night than any of his other quarterbacks.

"Probably more ready than they were, honestly, because those guys -- he's had a little more time in the crock pot," Swinney said. "Those guys had to be ready a little quicker, so I think Cade, he's had time to -- he's still a work in progress, but he's had time to physically, first of all, get himself in a much better situation than he was when he got here at about 179 pounds. He's almost right at 200 pounds now, so he's progressing physically, and so he's much better prepared there.

"He's had a great example in DJ, and he'd be the first one to tell you, DJ is one of the greatest preparers I've ever been around, so he had a good model to really see day in and day out, since January. Mentally he's been through as opposed to maybe two or three games, or to, bam, here's your moment. He's had a lot of game plans. He's had a lot of corrections. He's had a lot of weeks of practice and some experience to go with it, some good experience, some bad experience to prepare him. All those things I think have made him well prepared for this opportunity."

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