Clemson Tigers’ star quarterback Cade Klubnik is stepping into what could be the biggest year of his football career. It’s going to be his final season in college, and he’s hoping to become the “NFL-ready leader” by the end of the 2025 season. But the pressure on Klubnik isn’t just to carry the Tigers to the playoffs but also to stay fit and healthy while doing it. Fortunately, he can take a sigh of relief, thanks to a deeper QB room this year.

Klubnik might finally be in a position to take some risks. And just like last year, he will be entering the season as the starting QB for the Tigers. But what’s the difference this year? Well, as we mentioned, for the first time in a while, Clemson has real depth behind him. Dabo Swinney’s squad’s backup QB situation is looking stronger with guys like Christopher Vizzina, Trent Pearman, and Cade Trotter ready to step in at any time if needed.

This kind of depth will give assurance to a guy like Klubnik to play freely without second-guessing every move on the field. National analyst Brooks Austin recently talked about the same, saying, “I’ve seen this at other programs too, when you’re not just the guy, but you’re the only guy. In 2023, if Cade Klubnik goes down with an injury, what happens to Clemson? You know what I mean? Like, who’s their starting quarterback? A freshman, Christopher Vizzina, do you start the walk-on? You know what I’m saying?” Austin said during a podcast on ClemsonTigerNet.

“Like, in 2024, you feel—I would imagine they felt a little bit better about their backup quarterback situation. And in 2025, they’re going to feel really, really good or much better about the backup quarterback situation and kind of let him play free because Cade, by nature, is a competitor.” Austin said. In 2023, Clemson didn’t have the depth in the QB room, which resulted in a poor start to their regular season. Then came 2024, and the QB backup situation improved a little, and the results were also visible as they ended up winning the ACC championship game against SMU (34-31).

And now, as Austin mentioned, the Tigers are going to feel much better with a strong QB lineup. Klubnik, who has been the heartbeat of Clemson’s offense for the last two seasons, will be able to play even more freely. Standing at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing around 210 pounds, Klubnik racked up 2,844 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 2023. Coming into the 2024 season, his numbers jumped with 3,639 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and six interceptions. But the question is, what changed to spark that sudden jump in performance?

Cade Klubnik opens up about his struggles and growth

The turning point for Klubnik came off the field when no one was watching. It was the pain of public criticism and the weight of expectations that forced him to deliver his top performance, and everyone witnessed that in the 2024 season. However, despite being celebrated as one of the top QBs in college football, Klubnik is still hungry for more, as the task is yet to be done; after all, it’s his last season in college. Speaking to The Post and Courier, he said, “I’ve got the same mentality I did last year, when everybody kind of told me I stunk.”

At one point, the criticism was so harsh and loud that Klubnik didn’t even want to attend classes during the 2023 season. “That was the worst part. Having to go everywhere with humiliation written on my face.” Klubnik revealed. “It’s not that I took it all personally or anything like that. It was just hard to hear those things about yourself whenever you’re not successful at something that you love doing.”

Now, after a brilliant 2024 season and heading into the 2025 season, knowing that everything’s lined up—a deeper QB room and the experience of bouncing back—Klubnik must be riding high on confidence. He can play with more freedom, but he can’t afford another setback, especially with the NFL draft on the cards.