Wednesday Insider: Brandon Streeter not sure if Cade Klubnik will play against Jackets

Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said the 5-star freshman may not necessarily play on Monday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Aug 31 13:32:35 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Brandon Streeter says that freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik will play this season, but he’s not sure if the Texas native will play in the opener against Georgia Tech.

Clemson will kick off the 127th football season in school history on Labor Day as the Tigers travel to the home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons for a prime-time ACC matchup with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Monday, Sept. 5th. Kickoff for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET.

Streeter, the Tigers’ offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, and a nice mix of offensive and defensive players were made available Wednesday in the Poe Indoor Facility to preview the opener.

Streeter was asked if the coaches would like to get Klubnik on the field against the Jackets.

“We're kind of playing it by ear there. He's definitely going to play this year,” Streeter said of Klubnik. “There's no doubt about it. Whether he plays his first game or not. We'll wait and see how practice goes this week and then see how the game flows. Kind of like we talked about with the running backs. I think it's important that he is ready to go, and he has deserved to play this year. There's no question about it. He has earned that right, and he's done nothing but get better each and every day. So it really depends on the flow of the game, but we are prepared to do so if we need to.”

*Streeter was asked about the offensive line and if there was a sixth or seventh guy he trusted, and he mentioned both Mitchell Mayes and Bryn Tucker.

Streeter mentioned several names but omitted Dietrick Pennington, and he said Pennington is still progressing but has to improve the mental side of his game.

“Dietrick is doing good. He still got a ways to go mentally,” Streeter said. “He's got a ways to go there, but he's doing some good things physically. He's doing some unbelievable things. He's a big man. He weighed, I think, around 350 or 360 for the big weigh-in, but can move very, very well. So, I think the next step for him is really just mentally not busting assignments and being more consistent in that area. He's a valuable piece, though. He's a guy that I feel like has a bright future for sure. He's just got to keep working.”

Other names he mentioned were Tristan Leigh, Collin Sadler, and John Williams.

*Streeter said that DJ Uiagalelei has taken on a big-time leadership role and is the voice that every offense needs. Streeter and KJ Henry both said that Uiagalelei took “bullets” for the team last year, even though so much of what happened wasn’t his fault.

*Goodwin said every day is like Christmas morning for him, and that every day when he drives into work he’s thankful for this opportunity. I asked him about what he’s like on game day, and he said he’s a jokester. He likes to keep everybody loose telling jokes, and they can come at any time. (I am going to do a story on this later, because it’s gold). I asked if they were dad jokes or really good ones, and he said they are so good he can’t repeat them.

*Goodwin one thing that new defensive tackles coach Nick Eason has brought to the defense is a physical mindset. He said Eason understands that if you want to be a great defense, you have to win the line of scrimmage.

*Goodwin said that Fred Davis is finally looking like the guy they signed.

*Defensive end KJ Henry said he has a new appreciation for winning. He said that there came a point where he felt like he was too old to dance after a win, but now he plans to dance like crazy after every win this year.

*Henry said it’s a lot of fun playing in NFL stadiums, and he can’t wait for the chance to add the Benz to his list.

*Henry mentioned that he thought about leaving after last season, but head coach Dabo Swinney told him that there is an NFL defensive ends room here at Clemson and the competition will make him better.

*Jalyn Phillips is best friends with Andrew Booth (they went to Archer together), and he said he talks to Booth all the time about having an NFL mindset. When Phillips was asked about all of the co-starters on defense, he smiled and said, “that just shows you the depth we have.”