Swinney says Cade Klubnik is "magic" and reminds him of former Clemson star

Klubnik throws in camp last June.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Dec 15 16:21:47 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter traveled to Texas a few weeks ago to watch quarterback commit Cade Klubnik and his Austin Westlake team compete in the Texas 6A quarterfinals. Swinney walked away thinking one word about his future star: magic.

Klubnik is ranked as the top quarterback in the nation by Sports Illustrated, PrepStar, and Rivals.com and as the second-best quarterback by 247Sports and third by ESPN.com. He is 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.

Klubnik was also named the MVP of the Elite 11 Camp in the summer of 2021 and helped guide Westlake to state championships in 2019 and 2020. His 2021 team is currently 15-0 and will play in the state championship game on Dec. 18 in Dallas.

Swinney and Streeter watched from the sidelines as Klubnik put on a show in the playoffs and it didn’t take him long to compare him to another Clemson quarterback with a little magic on the field: Deshaun Watson.

"He's special, I mean, he's magic," Swinney said on Wednesday. "Just kind of what I see. I mean he reminds me so much of Deshaun (Watson). Just his traits, his attributes as a quarterback. Even his frame and his build coming out of high school, very similar. Cade's faster probably than Deshaun but very, very similar skill sets."

Heading into the final game of his high school career, Klubnik has amassed staggering numbers. He has played in 37 career games (including 36 Westlake wins), including a 26-0 mark as a starter his last two years. He has completed 467-of-666 (70.1 percent) career passes for 7,146 yards and 82 touchdowns vs. just six interceptions, and he’s added 189 carries for 1,259 rushing yards (6.7 avg.) and 31 touchdowns. Overall, he has 8,405 career yards of total offense on 855 plays (9.7 yards per play) and has accounted for 113 touchdowns — 82 passing and 31 rushing.

And he’s done it all against the highest level of competition in the state of Texas.

"Just a great presence," Swinney said. "This guy's out there playing for 30-plus thousand people in Texas Stadium there and probably gonna play in front of 40-50,000 this weekend. He just has an unbelievable voice and presence and command. He's so blessed. I mean, to be able to be in an environment like that, I mean, it looks like college teams out there. The way the programs are run, Texas high school football's -- it's pretty unique.”

Klubnik’s final game is also the final game for legendary Westlake coach Todd Dodge.

"Then Todd Dodge, I mean, this guy is a great football coach. I mean, you're talking about Drew Brees and Nick Foles and (Sam) Ehlinger and several other guys, I mean, he's one of the best high school coaches ever in our country,” Swinney said. “And he's also been an excellent college coach. He's been very fortunate to be in the situation that he's been in. You know, forced into being a starter. Kind of got the job there as a sophomore. And now he's going for three state championships in a row. He's a winner."

Swinney said that like Watson, Klubnik will need to spend some time in strength and conditioning coach Joey Batson’s Power Hour and add weight and muscle.

"Cade, I think he'll be a little bigger," Swinney said. "He'll probably be in that 184-85 range. (That's) probably where he'll show up. I think you'll see a similar progression between January and August, just from filling out a little bit."

Also like Watson, Klubnik brings a special set of skills to the program.

"His skill set, incredibly accurate," Swinney said. "Can extend, can create, you know, just has a great feel for where everyone is on the field. He's a good one. There's a reason why he's the No. 1 guy in the country. He's proven that, he's earned that. Every competitive environment that he's gone to, he's risen to the top. So super excited to have another guy coming in here of that caliber."