Texas Longhorns DC Pete Kwiatkowski Reveals What He Learned from Clemson Game

Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski talked about his takeaways from the first-round match against the Clemson Tigers.

Aug 11, 2021; Austin, TX, USA; Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski instructs players during football practice at DKR Texas Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Mandatory Credit: Mikala Compton-USA TODAY NETWORK / Austin American-Statesman-USA TO

The Texas Longhorns secured a ticket to the Peach Bowl by defeating the Clemson Tigers at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. But with every win, lessons can still be learned, and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski isn't shying away from those.

Talking to the media ahead of the quarterfinal match against Arizona State, Kwiatkowski reflected on the defensive performance against Clemson.

"What I learned from the Clemson game is, we play good quarterbacks and quarterbacks get hot," he said. "It goes back to the week of preparation, that we are preparing in the right way to take whoever we're playing's best shot. That was the main thing out of it."

Austin native quarterback Cade Klubnik put on a stellar performance for the Tigers against the Longhorn defense, throwing for 336 yards with three touchdowns. Klubnik had the best performance against the No. 2 defense in the country out of any quarterback this season.

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) throws a pass during the game against the Texas Longhorns in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"It reminds everyone that these quarterbacks are athletic and accurate," Kwiatkowski said. "We’ve got to do a good job of making them feel uncomfortable and do everything in our power to try and keep them from scrambling around where it now gets into plaster drill and guys can create space or take advantage of the dead areas in our zones.”

The Texas defense made up four of the five Longhorns that were named to the Associate Press All-American teams with Jahdae Barron in the first team and Michael Taaffe, Alfred Collins and Anthony Hill Jr. in the second.

Kwiatkowski's work defensively has been one of the most improved aspects of Texas football and at one of the best spots it's ever been. The defensive coordinator credits the hard work to mutual trust.

"It starts with trust, getting the guys believing and trusting in the coaches, and in turn, by their performances and how they practice and go on playing, they earn the trust of the coaches," Kwiatkowski said. "Pair them with getting them to believe in playing hard, playing physical, playing for each other, 'we vs. me' mentality,' And then recruiting, we've done a better job getting better players and creating competition, the guys have responded to that. Everybody wants to start, everybody wants to play."

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