Dabo Swinney preaches hopeful message for Cade Klubnik, Clemson offense

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says the scoreboard from Atlanta doesn't tell the whole story on his QB.

Grayson Mann · Staff Writer · Monday, September 02 2024

CLEMSON - Cade Klubnik’s Saturday performance had plenty of eyes on it.

Clemson’s season opener taught Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney plenty and provided several lessons when the video was turned on.

Regarding Cade Klubnik’s performance, it might be low-hanging fruit to say that this outing against the Bulldogs was a mixed bag. In a 34-3 loss to Georgia, the Tiger offense could not muster significant ground in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The offense ran 11 drives, gaining only 188 yards of total offense and averaging 3.6 yards per play. The Bulldogs outgained Clemson by nearly 300 yards.

When the offense performs like that, those same eyes are drawn to the starting quarterback. Fair or not, Klubnik becomes the center of attention in defeat. The junior signal caller completed 18 of his 29 passes, going for 142 yards with a 62 percent completion rate.

Klubnik was able to take more shots down the field, but only one of those targets reached its destination. Late into the first quarter, Klubnik launched a rainbow to the left sideline to Antonio Williams in one-on-one coverage.

It appeared the offense had begun to find its groove, with Klubnik again finding Williams on third down. However, a penalty negated the drive completely.

From there, the Bulldogs shut the Tigers down and didn't look back.

There were plenty of judges for his performance under center, but the greatest judge will ultimately be Dabo Swinney. Swinney relayed that while a lot was left on the field, Klubnik made better decisions and reiterated that the scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story.

“As far as Cade goes, his first play was his worst play,” Swinney said. “Sometimes at quarterback when you haven’t been tackled in a while, there’s a couple of plays that I felt he could have managed a little bit better. As far as his decision making, poise, and demeanor go; he made some really good throws. He had a couple of drops as well.”

The goal of Saturday night was dissecting the aftermath of a disappointing start to the season opener, but Swinney’s Sunday message was hopeful for Klubnik’s future.

“I think that game will make him better,” Swinney said. “I think he’s going to come away with it seeing some good stuff and gaining confidence. It is not always about what you see with progress. As coaches, we know that. There’s a lot of good things we can teach our team with on this tape.”

Swinney’s confident that Saturday’s heartbreak will turn into a season of triumph.

In the end, however, the fate of Clemson’s destiny will be in Klubnik’s hands.

Swinney’s confidence is apparent and will continue to be tested as the weeks begin to stack.