Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley met with reporters during Dabo Swinney’s 2024 media gathering at the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex Tuesday. Not surprisingly, quarterback Cade Klubnik’s name came up a lot.
One of the questions asked was about Riley’s expectations for Klubnik in 2024. Klubnik will be in his second full season as the Tigers’ starting quarterback after starting all 13 games a year ago.
“A guy that’s not going to panic, a guy that’s going to understand what we’re trying to do,” Riley said. “Minimizing some of the bad plays. Those are some of the things off the top of my head that we should be able to see this fall.”
Klubnik’s first full season was far from perfect as the Tigers began the year 4-4 with losses to Duke, Florida State, Miami and NC State. But Klubnik showed signs of improvement down the stretch, leading Clemson to five straight wins to close the year on a positive note.
In the Tigers’ 38-35 Gator Bowl win over Kentucky, Klubnik helped rally the team for 28 points in the fourth quarter to escape with a thrilling victory and hopefully give the former five-star quarterback from Austin, Texas, some momentum going forward.
“With all the things that kind of went on in our season, a good problem to have with a guy like Cade is at times he’s one of those that really believes in himself,” Riley said. “Which is awesome, but at times you can try to do a little bit too much.”
Riley pointed to injuries and depth issues that he believes resulted in Klubnik feeling added pressure a season ago.
“When certain guys were missing or maybe a little thin in certain spots, maybe the added pressure (of feeling) like he had to do a little bit too much probably crept in at times,” Riley said. “But as the season went on, I think he learned (from) that. I think he understood that a little bit better, and really I think the game kind of slowed down for him each and every week. That’s really what I saw as you look through it chronologically.”
Klubnik and the Tigers will open the 2024 season as underdogs against probable preseason No. 1 Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for noon EDT. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.
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