Looking ahead to 2022: Four newcomers to watch

Klubnik is already on campus ahead of spring practice starting in early March.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Feb 15 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

There aren’t a lot of answers offensively for Clemson heading into the spring, but one thing is certain – this Tiger team’s success in 2022 will depend on the play at quarterback and a newcomer might provide some of those answers.

It’s time to start previewing the spring and the 2022 season and project what we think the roster will look like when the Tigers kick it off against Georgia Tech in Mercedes-Benz Stadium Labor Day night. But before we dig too deep into the position groups, we are going to take a quick and brief look at the team and program in general following a 10-3 season and a successful close to the 2022 recruiting class.

We will start with the newcomers to watch this season.

In looking back at the 2021 season, Clemson’s offensive struggles were a product of several factors – an injured and inconsistent wide receivers group, injuries and transfers at running back, poor play and injuries along the offensive line, and inconsistent play at quarterback.

All of that has to be better in 2022, and that’s not news to anybody. All of those position groups will be squarely under the proverbial microscope during the spring and fall, but you better believe that all eyes will be on incumbent quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and newest signee Cade Klubnik.

Yes, the coaching staff added transfer Hunter Johnson to the mix, and he’s expected to provide maturity and leadership. Yes, Hunter Helms has provided snaps and has experience and earned a scholarship. Yes, Billy Wiles impressed the coaches enough last season to also earn a scholarship.

But when practice starts in a few weeks, all eyes will be on Uiagalelei and Klubnik, and that’s why Klubnik headlines our list of newcomers to watch.

CADE KLUBNIK

Klubnik was ranked as the top quarterback in the nation by Sports Illustrated, PrepStar, and Rivals.com, and ranked as second-best quarterback by 247Sports and third by ESPN.com. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas and was named as one of three finalists for National Gatorade Player of the Year for 2021. He was named MVP of the Elite 11 Camp in the summer of 2021 and then guided Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, to three consecutive state championships in 2019, 2020 and 2021, including the final two years as the starter.

He became the first quarterback to go undefeated as a starter while winning back-to-back state titles in Texas’ highest classification since Allen’s Kyler Murray.

He played in 38 career games (including 37 Westlake wins), including a 27-0 mark as a starter his last two years. Klubnik completed 481-of-687 (70.0 percent) career passes for 7,426 yards and 86 touchdowns vs. just seven interceptions, adding 197 carries for 1,319 rushing yards (6.7 avg.) and 31 touchdowns. He finished his high school career with 8,745 career yards of total offense on 884 plays (9.9 yards per play), and accounted for 117 touchdowns — 86 passing and 31 rushing.

Klubnik is a natural fit for the offense, a true dual threat who will keep the defense honest because they will have to respect his running ability. What do I like best about him? He appears to process the game quickly and makes good decisions in a timely manner.

TORIANO PRIDE

The Tigers lose cornerbacks Mario Goodrich and Andrew Booth to the draft, meaning there is an opportunity for someone to step in and impress corners coach Mike Reed. There are bodies ahead of Pride, but he has a chance to play early. Pride was a national top-40 player according to 247Sports, which rated him No. 39 overall, sixth-best among cornerbacks and second-best in Missouri. Rivals.com rated him as the nation’s No. 83 overall player, No. 10 cornerback and No. 3 player in the state. He was ranked No. 156 overall by ESPN, including listing him as the 16th-best cornerback and fourth-best player in the state.

I love his length, ability to tackle in space, and competitive nature.

JEADYN LUKUS

The Mauldin native is another one that has a chance to play corner early, and he showed off his athleticism in the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Florida, last month. His interception went viral on social media and was widely shown on outlets such as ESPN's "SportsCenter."

His ball skills and freaky athleticism are off the charts.

Here is the interception:

This interception by Clemson signee Jeadyn Lukus is insane ?? pic.twitter.com/jaT3MCs8No
— Saturday Gameday (@SaturdayGameday) January 3, 2022

ANTONIO WILLIAMS

A late add to the Tigers’ recruiting class, the Dutch Fork product is the kind of player the Tigers missed last season – a quick twitch guy who can make plays in space and provide the quarterback an attractice option on either short or long routes. With the Tigers, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him cross-training at all three wide receiver spots but wind up in the slot. There is no doubt the Tigers missed a viable slot guy last season.

Williams was rated as a top-100 player nationally by multiple outlets, while Rivals.com ranked him as the nation’s No. 74 overall prospect, including ranking him as the nation’s No. 34 receiver and the fifth-best prospect in the state. ESPN ranked him as the No. 83 overall player in the nation, the ninth-best receiver and the third-best player in South Carolina.

He played on three state championship teams at Dutch Fork and lost only one game in his high school career. He helped Dutch Fork reach the 2021 state championship game and finish with a 12-1 record. He had 137 career catches for 2,458 yards and 23 touchdowns and also had 20 career rushes for 241 yards (12.0 avg.) and a touchdown. He was also an outstanding punt returner who averaged 26.2 yards on 29 career returns.