Analyst on Klubnik: "Seen more examples of him being disappointing than him being dominant"

Cade Klubnik made big leaps statistically overall and impressed back home in Texas.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Sunday, May 25 2025

The offseason hype train has been rolling on Cade Klubnik and the Tigers, but one national analyst is pumping the brakes a bit.

On3's Andy and Ari podcast reviewed some Top 100 player rankings for college football from fellow On3 analyst Clark Brooks, with some disagreement coming on Klubnik's spot.

Brooks has Klubnik at No. 33 overall, not seeing the Tigers signal-caller as a NFL first-round pick.

"For the unobserved, 33 is one spot outside of our impact five stars. That means I don't think he is going to be a first-round pick," Brooks said, "and while I may have whispered that part, I'm going to scream this one...He has had a negative interception to explosive pass ratio. That matters. He throws into harm's way a lot. Now some of that is because of the Clemson's offense. It is very short-oriented. Slants, spots, short-passing-game staples. That's gonna really invite the defense to play closer to the line of scrimmage and reduce the space your guys have to operate...While he may have targeted downfield more than the average passer, he was not delivering the explosives that you want..."

There is a caveat, however, and it's Klubnik's stellar game back in his hometown of Austin this December.

Against a No. 1-rated pass defense, Klubnik passed for 336 yards with three touchdowns to one pick.

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"He wasn't beating up bad defenses. He was tested plenty...That second half against Texas was as impressive of a performance as any passer had last season. If he does that, yeah, he is a Top 5 pick," Brooks said. "I just have seen more examples of him being disappointing than him being dominant. Sorry not sorry."

Per PFF, Klubnik ranked 102nd among FBS QBs in 2023 with a 63.9 PFF passing grade, but then finished ranked fifth in 2024 with an 87.7 mark, notching the fifth most big-time throws (28). Per ESPN, Klubnik had the most touchdown passes of 20+ yards last season (16), averaging 16.6 yards per attempt on deep throws overall.

With 30 more dropbacks, Klubnik had five fewer turnover-worthy plays from 2023 to 2024 in PFF's estimation (18 down to 13), dropping the rate by a percentage point (3.3 to 2.3). He went from 14 big-time throws combined over 2022 and 2023 to the 28 in 2024.

Overall, Brooks is a fan of what Clemson can do this season, and he has a prediction if that Klubnik momentum carries over to 2025.

"Clemson's loaded," Brooks said. "That defensive line, probably one of the best in college football. Two really good linebackers. The secondary is really set up for success...Klubnik, if he is that second half version of himself, Clemson is probably going undefeated and probably going to win the national title if that happens...I think Clemson over 9.5 (Vegas wins total) is an easy buy, even if it's a harder-than-average ACC slate. They're just super-talented...I'm very optimistic on Clemson even if I'm not the highest on their quarterback."