After an up-and-down season that saw it operate in the shadows for most of the fall, Clemson football is back in the College Football Playoff. Dabo Swinneyand company are back on top of the ACC and earned the final automatic berth into the 12-team bracket, marking the first time that they have played in the CFP since 2020.
The Tigers are led by quarterback Cade Klubnik, a former elite recruit who many Clemson fans expected to become the next great QB in line after Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence. Klubnik looked the part right away, winning the MVP of the ACC Championship game as a freshman in 2022.
2023 didn’t go as planned for Klubnik, who struggled for a lot of the season as Clemson failed to meet expectations. However, Swinney believed in Klubnik and stuck with him heading into this season, via David Hale of ESPN.
“I never had any doubt with Cade,” Swinney said, per Hale. “If I did, I would’ve gone and taken a big-time portal guy. But I believe in Cade. He’s a worker, he’s gifted, he’s smart. He deserves all the credit because he’s really grown.”
The message did wonders for Klubnik and restored his confidence coming into this season.
“After a season you wouldn’t ever dream of having, to have somebody like that come and tell you he still believes in you and trusts in you, that means a lot,” Klubnik said, per Hale.