Five-star quarterback back in Death Valley to check out his future home

Klubnik will attend this weekend's game.

by Jake Pierce - Recruiting Reporter - Sat Nov 13 09:58:10 GMT-04:00 2021

Cade Klubnik has been one of the hottest names in high school football over the past year, with a state championship, numerous awards, and a commitment to Clemson all coming during that time. Klubnik started his run for another state title last night, and the 5-star will be in Death Valley Saturday to see his future home again.

Klubnik picked up a Clemson offer on February 26th and wasted little time deciding where he wanted to play college football. Klubnik committed on March 2nd, and the Westlake (TX) quarterback knew before the offer ever came that he wanted to play for Dabo Swinney.

“I think the way I grew up watching football and seeing Coach Swinney from a distance and watching him on TV, I just had a feeling that it would be so cool to play for that guy one day,” Klubnik told TigerNet. “Before I ever got to meet him or shake his hand, you could just see how different he is and how much he loves the players and loves Clemson. I remember my mom asking me if I could pick one coach to play for who would it be. And this is when I only had like 3 offers, and I said Coach Swinney for sure. He’s there for people to become better men after their four years at Clemson. And that feeling just took off even more after I got to know him.”

Klubnik will be on an official visit today as Clemson takes on UConn, and the future Tiger is excited to see the offense and the teammates he’ll be working with.

“I think they looked really good last week and DJ (Uiagalelei) was really clicking,” Klubnik said. “I’m excited to get there and I’m just going take it one day at a time and work my butt off when I get there. I’m a hard worker and I’m going to do whatever I can for the team.”

Klubnik suffered an injury to his left shoulder earlier this season that sidelined him for three week before returning to lead Westlake to a 63-21 win last week. Klubnik and Westlake are now gearing up for a run at a third state championship in a row, and a veteran-led group knows the recipe for a successful finish.

“I think this team and group of veterans with multiple seniors who have been on varsity since their sophomore year and already won it twice, we know how to do it and the way to do it,” Klubnik said. “And it’s just taking it one week at a time. We don’t even say state championship until we are in that week. You never look forward, you just look at who they give you on Friday night, you prepare and work your butt off in the game and see what happens. And then if you win, let’s go do it again. And before you know it you’re at the end and you’re there. I think the motivation is even higher this year for our guys as seniors because it’s our last run.”

Although Klubnik was forced to sit out and watch the game that has brought him so much success, Klubnik used that time to reflect and see the game from a different angle.

“With winning the state championship, committing to the greatest school on earth, and then the Elite 11, I’ve had a lot of highs,” he said. “And I’ve definitely had some lows with Jackson (Coker) passing. But when it comes to football, I think there’s been a lot of good in the last eight or nine months. But when I got hurt, it was kind of good to get humbled again. Not that I’m cocky, but it was just so good to see my best friend and back up play. He’s such a hard worker and had great games, and it was so great just to see him leading the team and having a blast doing it.”

Klubnik’s abilities on the field have translated to a prestigious career, and Klubnik finds his motivation and strength in his faith.

“I would say faith is everything to me,” he said. “Football is just a platform for me to share Christ in my life. I think my motivation is that the further along I get in the game of football, the bigger platform I’ll have to be able to share more about Him. I think that is a really good way to view it. Football is something that I’ve always loved and one of my favorite things in the world to do. Football is a gift that’s been given to me that can be taken away at any time. I’m going to take advantage of it and use the platform for His good and not mine because I don’t even deserve to be in the situation I’m in.”