Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is entering a crucial season, both for his development as a collegiate passer and a potential 2025 NFL Draft prospect. Where did Klubnik play high school football and begin his career?
Where Did Cade Klubnik Play in High School?
Klubnik played high school football at Westlake High in Austin, Texas — the same high school future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees hails from.
There, Klubnik distinguished himself as one of the best quarterback recruits in the 2022 class.
Though Klubnik was only a two-year starter, he was truly immaculate in his 27-game stretch as the team’s top signal-caller, going 27-0 across his junior and senior seasons. He led Westlake to consecutive state championships, including one against Quinn Ewers in 2020.
Across his high school career, Klubnik completed 481 of 687 (70%) attempts for 7,426 yards, 86 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions — true video game numbers.
Klubnik’s high school performance corroborates his rare passing talent. He was named the MVP of the Elite 11 Passing Camp he attended in the summer of 2021, and he ultimately earned a five-star recruit billing in the 2022 recruiting class.
How Did Klubnik End Up at Clemson?
As far back as 2020, Klubnik began receiving scholarship offers from college teams. As his legend grew at the high school level, more high-level programs began to showcase interest.
Baylor was the first Power conference program to offer Klubnik, and Auburn and Virginia Tech soon followed suit. By April of 2020, Klubnik had interest from vaunted SEC schools like LSU and Ole Miss, and his list of options only continued to grow.
Nevertheless, Klubnik took his time with the process, and he finally committed to Clemson — one of the final teams to offer him — in March of 2021.
In December of 2021, Klubnik signed his letter of intent with the Tigers, and he enrolled the following January. In doing so, Klubnik would enter the running to take the torch from CFB legend and first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence.
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Originally, Klubnik was behind fellow five-star talent D.J. Uiagalelei when he arrived. But Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State after an up-and-down start at Clemson, and Klubnik became the team’s starter ahead of the 2023 season.
In his first season as the Tigers’ full-time starter, Klubnik put up respectable numbers. He went 9-4 and converted on 290 of 454 attempts (63.9%) for 2,844 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while also adding four additional touchdowns on the ground.
While Klubnik’s introduction to the CFB stage was solid, there’s still a sense that the former Westlake star has more to offer.
Early on in the 2024 campaign, he’ll be tested by a vaunted Georgia defense stocked to the brim with elite CFB talent, and he’ll be tasked with out-dueling potential 2025 NFL Draft QB1 candidate Carson Beck on the other sideline.
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