Cade Klubnik reveals how he can get Clemson teammates to find their fire again

The pressure is mounting on the Clemson Tigers following a 1-3 start overall and an 0-2 record in ACC play. Now, quarterback Cade Klubnik wants to see his teammates get their fire back.

The goal for any Clemson team is to compete for national championships, but that hasn’t been the case to this point. So, the Tigers took the bye week to hit the reset button. During that time, they had the opportunity to remember why they came to Clemson in the first place.

“It’s a good question,” quarterback Cade Klubnik said. “I think just reminding guys why you do it. I think it’s huge. Just reminding guys why you do it. What are you here for? The opportunity that we have, we’ve all dreamed of being here. Like, what’s there to be tense about? What’s there to hold yourself back from?”

Klubnik is now a veteran at Clemson, having been there since 2022 when he came in as a five-star recruit. By his freshman season, he pushed for and took over the starting quarterback job, and now, as a senior, the expectation was that he would lead the breakout.

However, in four games, he has seemingly taken a step back from last season’s success. His completion percentage is down. More importantly, after throwing 36 touchdowns to six interceptions a season ago in 14 games, he’s thrown six touchdowns and four interceptions in four games this season.

“Go out and like, literally, look around. What a freaking blessing it is to come play football at Clemson,” Klubnik said. “And when you kind of take a step back, instead of being so focused on trying to be perfect all the time. Take a step back and realize it’s the same game you’ve been playing since you were five. I feel like I did a lot in the last game, really the last two games, just to try to go out and have fun and rip it. But I feel like we’ve all been feeling that the last two weeks and it’s been fun to just feel that fire and energy and competitiveness, whether it’s some smack talk on the field during competitive segments and stuff like that.”

This week, Clemson is set to take on another struggling ACC school, North Carolina. Both teams need a massive bounce-back win. Certainly, for Clemson, it’s a game they need to show some fight in.

“So, it’s fun. It’s been good to see and [I’m] just really proud of this team. We’re gonna keep fighting, like I said, and try to go play our best game. That’s what it is,” Klubnik concluded.