Garrett Riley says Cade Klubnik is the 'full package'

Cade Klubnik showed what he can do in his freshman season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Feb 04 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – New offensive coordinator Garrett Riley knows all about Cade Klubnik, and he said he can’t wait to work with the quarterback he says is the full package.

Riley was hired away from TCU to Clemson in early January after spending the previous three seasons in the state of Texas – two years at SMU and then one year at TCU. As a result, he saw and recruited Klubnik, who hails from the storied program at Austin (TX) Westlake.

Klubnik didn’t choose either SMU or TCU but instead chose to attend Clemson, and Riley didn’t waste time in reminding Klubnik of that fact.

“I kind of joked with him because I’d recruited Cade for about the last three years before he came to Clemson,” Riley said during Clemson’s National Signing Day show Wednesday. “So I said, ‘Well I didn’t know I had to come to South Carolina to coach you.’”

Klubnik completed 61 of 100 passes for 697 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions last season in limited playing time. He also rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries. He made his first start in the Orange Bowl against No. 6 Tennessee and completed 30 of 54 passes for 320 yards while rushing 20 times for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Klubnik showed flashes of his potential during his brief run as a starter, and Riley says that Klubnik has all the tools.

“He’s the full package,” Riley said. “He’s very skilled, he’s very talented, but I just think between the ears, the way he carries himself, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that that’s kind of the magic of Cade Klubnik. He’s certainly a great player. Know a lot about him. There’s certainly a lot of history seeing him throughout his high school career at Westlake. He’s certainly great piece to work with. I feel like I know the kid and know what his strengths are. His skill set, his demeanor and his intangibles I think are going to fit very well with what we do.

“I’ve known of Cade and known Cade for probably about three years now. I recruited him while he was a young pup there at Austin Westlake and the great career he had at the high school level.”

Riley said he wants to make playing quarterback for the Tigers a simple process.

“If you can make it simple for them and they make routine decisions at a high rate, most of the time, they’re probably going to make routine plays,” Riley said. “I think with his background, the way he’s been coached and coming from a winning culture in high school growing up, just all those things are right there for him. That’s what’s going to be exciting is to kind of work through those things with him in this system and put him in those positions to allow his playmakers to make plays.”

Riley gets his chance to work with Klubnik when spring practice starts on March 6th.

“I’m very eager and anxious to get to work with him,” Riley said. “We just got off the road, so I haven’t seen him too much, but I know that kid’s foaming at the mouth.”