In light of recent development read also ………………..
One Quick Thing: Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson don’t have to be Cade Klubnik.
Talking season, or the offseason, is upon us. It occurs when we contemplate every scenario that might occur. This time of year, I’ve noticed that a lot of Clemson supporters err on the side of optimism. Instead than concentrating on the worst-case situation, we frequently consider the best-case scenario. Being miserable because you anticipate the worse is not pleasant.
With Clemson’s quarterback, we haven’t seen his best-case scenario in a long. There were great expectations that Cade Klubnik, the starting quarterback, would become the quarterback Clemson needed to return to the promised land with a full offseason under his belt and a new coach in Garrett Riley. Those expectations did not come true.
The best-case scenario for Klubnik this year is that he improves in Riley’s second full season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. This season, there won’t be an installation. Klubnik is capable of refining the offense’s subtleties. This is a conceivable best-case scenario. Another possibility is that Klubnik may begin the season as badly as he did the previous one, which would hinder the attack.
Whichever position one takes on Klubnik, there’s one sentiment that I tend to hear quite a little. Depending on one’s point of view, it can take on various shapes, but generally speaking, they sound like this.
“Cade Klubnik is not Deshaun Watson or Trevor Lawrence.”
“National titles have only been won by Clemson when they have quarterbacks like Lawrence or Watson.”
Klubnik isn’t Lawrence or Watson, but he can still get better.
These claims are accurate. These are true both now and in the past, back when Klubnik was a five-star recruit coming out of Texas’ elite high school football program. We simply were unaware of it at the time. These also applied to DJ Uiagalelei throughout his time as a 5-star recruit.
For several reasons, they are both entirely irrelevant and true.
The last four national winners, JJ McCarthy, Stetson Bennett, and Mac Jones, weren’t Lawrence or Watson either. To win a national championship, your quarterback does not need to be a generational talent.
Furthermore, being good does not need winning a national title. Lawrence or Watson did not start for the Tigers every year, nor did Clemson win the national championship every year.
Although Tajh Boyd was among the greatest quarterbacks in program history, he wasn’t as good as Watson or Lawrence. He never took home a national title. He would never have qualified for the College Football Playoffs if they had been around when he played.
However, leading Clemson to the top seed in the 2017 College Football Playoffs is the main accomplishment on Kelly Bryant’s college football résumé. Kelly Bryant is unlikely to be ranked higher than the 25th percentile if the talking season authority were to rate every quarterback in CFP history.
The one mercy I will give to those who feel compelled to bring up Lawrence or Watson when talking about Klubnik or Clemson’s future with him at the quarterback position is that there are still some Clemson supporters who believe—or at least harbor hopes—that Klubnik will suddenly become an elite player.
I can see why some experts on the topic would like to note before expressing their belief that Klubnik could get better in 2024 that fans shouldn’t get too excited and assume that just because players like Kenny Pickett or Joe Burrow made significant career leaps in their later years, Klubnik will also do so. It makes reasonable that some Clemson supporters could assume that this is the norm given that they have “won the lottery” a few times in recent memory.
Dabo Swinney’s comparison of Klubnik to Watson did little to advance this argument. Perhaps he does share some aspects with DW, but in the end, some fans may have had high hopes because of it.
My argument is that we must abandon the belief that Clemson cannot succeed if players deserving of the Heisman Trophy don’t take offensive snaps. The idea that Klubnik must be Lawrence or Watson must be abandoned. We have to get over the idea that he could be Lawrence or Watson at all. It’s too late to do that now.
It is imperative that we adopt the mentality that a player such as Klubnik is entirely capable of contributing to Clemson’s 2024 success, even if success is defined by something other than winning the ACC, national title, or making it to the playoffs. We must believe that Klubnik is what this team needs him to be, and nothing more. For their teams during those seasons, McCarthy, Bennett, and Jones were exactly that.