Clemson's plan to make Cade Klubnik an elite quarterback after Dabo Swinney saw 'too many disasters'

CLEMSON – Bigger.

Faster.

Stronger.

Better.

That’s what Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is expected to be in 2024.

Suffice to say that plenty more is expected of Klubnik as he enters his second year under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley – more production, more efficiency in the red zone, fewer mistakes.

Klubnik was a middle-of-the-pack quarterback in the last season; now it’s time for him to up his game and enter the realm of the league’s elite.

By any measure, Klubnik’s first year as the Tigers’ starter was a growing season.

“We were just a really young team last year,” Klubnik said. “We had to learn the hard way sometimes and I had to learn the hard way. That’s just how it is.”

Klubnik said it has served him well to look back at last season’s mistakes, figure out what went wrong and resolve to eliminate them. He says he has a notebook full of observations and notations designed to help him.

There were times when he was a bit reckless when it came to ball security. He was intercepted nine times, although “only four were on him,” according to coach Dabo Swinney, and lost four fumbles.

Klubnik also was sacked 29 times, eight of which were directly attributable to him, per Swinney’s statistical tracking.

“The biggest thing was too many disasters, as we call them – sacks and tackles for loss and turnovers,” Swinney said. “We’ll live with four interceptions. He throws four interceptions next year, hey sign me up for that. I’ll be a happy guy.

“But he had way too many tackles for loss. What that speaks to is pocket presence, pocket awareness. That’s where he’s got to get better. He’s got to take care of the ball better.”

Obviously pocket presence and situational awareness are foremost on Klubnik’s to-do list over the next several months, and he’s convinced that improved post-snap recognition will result in him being more aggressive in his decision making. That, he says, will lead to quicker reads, more explosive plays and ultimately fewer sacks.

As for Clemson’s struggles in the red zone last season, most of which were attributable to turnovers, Klubnik offered a simple solution: “I think it just starts with taking a deep breath. Sometimes we’d get a little frantic. Just take a deep breath and calm down.”

Klubnik certainly appeared calm in the season finale, going 8-for-8 on a 12-play, 68-yard game-winning drive in the final couple of minutes in a comeback victory against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl.

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Now he needs to exhibit that same knack for playmaking from the season’s outset, which come August will kick off with an intriguing showdown against Georgia in Atlanta.

The bottom line is that Klubnik has elevated expectations, both for himself and the team, and rightly so. The Tigers are coming off the program’s first season with less than 10 victories since 2010.

When asked whether he felt better about Clemson’s chances of returning to the College Football Playoff with the new expanded 12-team format, he upped the ante.

“Our goal is to go undefeated, and I fully, fully believe that this is the team that can do it,” Klubnik said. “I think we’ve got every single piece that we need to be able to do that. If I just continue to take another step this spring and this summer and we continue to keep our heads on straight and keep on working and shutting out the noise I don’t see how that can’t happen. I believe it.”

Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer