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Clemson University quarterback Cade Klubnik is returning to Tigertown for his senior season, he announced on social media late Monday evening (December 30, 2024).
“The story isn’t over,” Klubnik wrote on X. “See y’all in 2025.”
Klubnik, 21, of Austin, Texas has been Clemson’s starting quarterback since December 3, 2022 when he replaced DJ Uiagalelei on the third series of the ACC Championship game against North Carolina. He promptly led the Tigers on four straight scoring drives and earned MVP honors in his first extended action of the season.
Since then, Klubnik has posted a 19-9 record as Clemson’s starting quarterback. For his career, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound dual threat signal-caller has completed 659 of 1,040 career passes (63.3%) for 7,180 yards with 57 touchdowns and eighteen interceptions. Klubnik has also amassed 784 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground during his Clemson career.
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This season, Klubnik set career highs with 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns while rushing for another 463 yards and seven scores – leading the Tigers (10-4) to another ACC championship and an automatic bid to the expanded College Football Playoff (CFP) format.
Klubnik won his second consecutive MVP award in the 2024 ACC championship game after throwing four touchdowns against SMU, but the Tigers fell on the road to No. 3 Texas in the opening round of the CFP.
Klubnik completed 26 of 43 passes (60.5%) against the Longhorns for 336 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. The general consensus amongst Tiger fans was that Klubnik and the Clemson offense played well enough against the best defense in the country to win the game – but were let down by the Tigers’ defensive unit, which has seen its status slip significantly in the three years since former coordinator Brent Venables departed to become head coach at Oklahoma.
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How much better would Klubnik’s Clemson career look paired with a Venables-coached defense?
Unfortunately for Tiger fans, they’ll never know… although head coach Dabo Swinney is believed to be mulling a move at the defensive coordinator position ahead of the 2025 season.
As for Klubnik, he had been projected to go as early as the second round in the 2025 NFL draft – or as late as the fifth round – with some scouts comparing him to former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield. Instead, he will return to Death Valley ranking among the school’s top five all-time quarterbacks in passing touchdowns (fourth), passing yards (fourth), passes thrown (fourth) and completions (fifth).
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The story isn’t over. See y’all in 2025. pic.twitter.com/ovcitDHh8F
— Cade Klubnik (@CadeKlubnikQB) December 30, 2024
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He will also enter the coming year as one of the early favorites for the 2025 Heisman Trophy – along with University of South Carolina sophomore LaNorris Sellers.
Prior to enrolling at Clemson in January 2022, Klubnik was a standout at Westlake High School in Austin, the same program that produced Super Bowl MVPs Drew Brees and Nick Foles. At Westlake, Klubnik amassed 8,745 total yards and accounted for 117 total touchdowns in helping lead his team to three Texas state championships.
Clemson returns a ton of talent on offense – and Swinney has (for the first time) begun to leverage the transfer portal to fill holes and add depth at critical positions. In commenting on Klubnik’s decision against that backdrop, ESPN’s Pete Thamel remarked that Clemson should be “projected as a Top 5 team in 2025.”
The Tigers open their 2025 season on August 30 at home against LSU – a rematch of the national championship game which concluded the 2019 season.
BANNER: Travis Bell Columbia SC Photographers
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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