Will Shipley says Cade Klubnik shines, on and off the field

Cade Klubnik and Will Shipley are two leaders on the Clemson offense.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon May 15 07:00:16 GMT-04:00 2023

Will Shipley says that quarterback Cade Klubnik shines, on and off the field, and he takes others along for the ride.

During an interview on the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast, Shipley, now a rising junior at Clemson, was asked about how he perceives Klubnik, who is set to begin his second season at Clemson in the fall.

Shipley said Klubnik shines.

“He is special, on and off the field. He is a follower of Christ, most importantly, and you see that just by being around him,” Shipley said. “He just shines, man. He is a natural leader and he brings others along with him, which is what makes him such a good leader. He makes you feel good about yourself, and that's a great thing to have is to not only bring others along but to put a smile on their face while doing it. That is exactly what he does.”

Klubnik arrived at Clemson as a 5-star prospect fresh off of leading his Austin (TX) Westlake program to back-to-back Texas state championships. He immediately settled in behind incumbent starter DJ Uiagalelei, but Uiagalelei struggled during large chunks of the season.

Klubnik came off the bench to help lead the Tigers to a win over Syracuse, but most of the heroics in that game belonged to Shipley and the ground game. He came off the bench again in the loss at Notre Dame and immediately threw an interception.

Many thought that Klubnik should have received another chance when Uiagalelei struggled against South Carolina, but he stayed on the bench as Uiagalelei and Antonio Williams turned the ball over late in the loss to the Gamecocks.

Shipley was asked how the team handled the quarterback controversy.

“I thought we handled it really well as a squad. Going into the year - obviously Cade Klubnik is a 5-star coming in was a big deal, and then DJ not having as much success as we thought he would the year before,” Shipley said. “There wasn't much of a competition. DJ did really well in fall camp and did his thing. He earned the job. And Cade was really understanding with it, and you could tell he wanted to get knowledge and just get better. And that is exactly what he did.”

He finally got his chance after Uiagalelei struggled early against North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game. Klubnik earned ACC Championship Game MVP honors against the Tar Heels after completing 20-of-24 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown, rushing seven times for 30 yards with a rushing touchdown and recording a 19-yard reception. He became only the third freshman to be named ACC Championship Game MVP, joining Florida State’s Jameis Winston (2013) and Dalvin Cook (2014).

“When the time came for him to take over, he did,” Shipley said, “And with all the confidence in the world. He brought a new energy to our team last year, especially in the ACC Championship, which was just special.”