Streeter: Klubnik 'brought a spark for sure' to the Clemson offense

Cade Klubnik looks for yards against the Tar Heels.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Thu Dec 08 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

Clemson's offense found its way against North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game win over North Carolina, and it was freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik’s first game truly leading the way. Klubnik’s leadership gave the offense new life, as described by offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter.

“It brought a spark for sure, and it brought energy and guys did a great job of making plays around him and he did a great job,” Streeter said.

Going into the Orange Bowl matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers (Dec. 30/8 p.m./ESPN), Streeter says that Klubnik’s confidence will be incredibly high.

“He’s going to have a ton of confidence and I think our offense is going to have a ton of confidence,” Streeter said. “He’s a guy that’s shown to be ready when he needs to be ready and then having an opportunity to have a lot of preparation time leading up to the game, too, will be really really good for him as a young player.”

Klubnik was not the only bright spot on the Tiger offense. Clemson finally had their first 100-yard receiver of the season with freshman wide receiver Cole Turner. It was rather refreshing to see a Clemson receiver accomplish that goal this season as Clemson’s previous title as WRU seemed to no longer apply.

“Cole Turner has been really really good as a freshman coming in here, practicing, being able to redshirt, getting limited reps at practice but when he did, he made them count,” Streeter said. “He made them count every single time. As coaches, we saw that early on. We knew that he’s a guy that does not get spooked at all in any situation. He just continues to make plays at practice and churns out on the field.”

In the Orange Bowl and going into next season, Turner and other wide receivers such as fellow freshman Antonio Williams will surely need to generate more plays. Specifically in the Orange Bowl the passing game is the best way to attack the Volunteer defense, as they rank No. 19 in rushing defense and No. 127 in passing yards allowed. Given that Clemson is No. 74 nationally in passing offense and No. 46 in rushing offense, this matchup for Clemson’s offense doesn't seem to play in their favor. However, the team has an X-factor going into the bowl.

“This is the most close-knit team that I’ve ever been a part of and we (could) tell that from the summer coming into the preseason game,” Streeter said.