If Cade Klubnik pulls a Trevor Lawrence this fall, Clemson football fans will be in rare form.
Trevor Lawrence cemented his legacy in Clemson football lore by winning the starting quarterback job midseason as a true freshman before leading the Tigers to a College Football Playoff National Championship in 2018. One fan expects for Cade Klubnik to do the same thing in 2022.
It may have been somewhat of an incoherent mess, but the Message Board Geniuses were able to find and promote this most delicious of college football nuggets. Klubnik may have a ton of talent coming to Clemson by way of his native Texas, but for him to pull a Lawrence this fall, he will have to overtake the incumbent D.J. Uiagalelei. What are the odds of this even happening for Clemson?
It might sound crazy, but stranger things have happened before in the college football landscape.
Clemson football fan says 2022 Cade Klubnik will be 2018 Trevor Lawrence
By breaking this down piece by piece, each segment does not seem improbable. Could Klubnik beat out Uiagalelei for the starting quarterback job? Yes, as Uiagalelei has not exactly ran away with it since taking over for Lawrence a season ago. Could Clemson get to and win the College Football Playoff? Yes, as this is the best program in a weak ACC and with significant experience.
However, this is where things get a bit challenging. While Klubnik could overtake Uiagalelei to win the starting job, quarterback the Tigers to an ACC Championship and a playoff appearance, is he going to be able to beat the likes of C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young in back-to-back playoff games? How sure are we he can even knock off Stetson Bennett in a national semifinal or the title bout?
Ultimately, it is the parlay in all this that sounds crazy. For most people, Clemson could conceivably win its third national title of the Dabo Swinney era this season, but Uiagalelei would have to play at a Heisman Trophy finalist level. Klubnik may be the future of Clemson football, but so much has changed in the college game since Lawrence’s freshman season with the Tigers four years ago.
If Klubnik does pull a Lawrence, this Clemson fan said it first incoherently on a message board.
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