Cade Klubnik is looking for more consistency and overall improvement as he enters his second season in offensive coordinator Garrett Riley’s system.
Klubnik started all 13 games last season and threw for 2,844 yards to go with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also coughed up 10 fumbles with five resulting in turnovers.
The Tigers started 4-4 but closed the season on a five-game winning streak that Klubnik helped engineer, culminating in a 28-point fourth-quarter comeback against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl.
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy had a lot to say about Clemson on the Thursday edition of his Always College Football podcast. He shared that he thought the former five-star recruit out of Austin, Texas, could be poised to make a “significant jump” in 2024.
“People forget that while Cade Klubnik was a five-star (recruit) and they sprinkled him into some action in his true freshman year, the guy’s only started 13 or 14 games. It’s not like he’s played a ton of football,” McElroy said. “So, Cade Klubnik, I think, maybe he’s poised to make a significant jump his second year in the offense, his second year with Riley, and with what should be a better receiving corps.
“Now, he’s got to make better decisions. He threw nine picks last year, and he’s got to have better ball security. He put the ball on the ground 10 times, five of which were lost.”
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McElroy added that he expected the Tigers’ rushing attack to be strong with Phil Mafah back at tailback.
“The good news is, I do think they’re going to be able to run the football,” McElroy said. “I look at Phil Mafah, and while he was kind of used as a piece to kind of spell Will Shipley throughout the first half of last season, down the stretch he really got it going. The last six games, nobody ran for more rushing touchdowns, and there were only two guys in the league who had more rushing yards down the stretch than Phil Mafah last year.”
Clemson opens the season against Georgia, the preseason No. 1 team in the US LBM Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Tigers are ranked No. 14 in the coaches poll. Kickoff is at noon ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will be televised on ABC.
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