Cade Klubnik Wants Clemson Tigers to Have Killer Instinct

Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik his offense to end every drive with a touchdown. A lofty goal for sure, but Klubnik has a method to his madness.

Klubnik recalled a story that his high school coach told him while being interviewed during camp a week ago. It was a story in which his coach wanted the team to continue scoring points even when blowing out opponents.

"That was a good reminder he told me this offseason. I want to respect my opponent. I want to give them full four quarters of what we have, and I feel like sometimes last year, we got up big and let up,” Klubnik said. 

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Klubnik was referring to the Tigers having trouble at times keeping their foot on the gas during last season. Clemson won 10 games a season ago, but in a few of those, Clemson found it difficult to build on second-half leads. Klubnik held himself accountable for several of those woes, stating that he missed some throws that could have added to the lead.

Clemson's offense re-ignited last season to help the Tigers win the ACC and return to the College Football Playoff by averaging 34.7 points per game and almost 452 yards of total offense.

For Clemson to get back into the national championship game, the red zone trips will need to result in touchdowns instead of field goals. Last season, the team made 52 trips into the red zone and put points on the board in 45 of those trips. Settling for a field goal on 14 different occasions. 

The offense as a unit in Clemson wants to replace the field goals with six points. Their touchdown percentage of 59.6 was only 75th in the FBS last season, showing plenty of room for improvement. 

The Tigers have had many players on the offense side of the football agree to return and make a run at the team's first national championship since 2018, including wide receiver Antonio Williams and offensive tackles Blake Miller and Tristan Leigh.

Klubnik is already slated as a Heisman Trophy favorite, having played lights out last year and having one of the best seasons for a Clemson quarterback in a quarterback-rich history. Last season, Klubnik threw for 3,639 yards with 36 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He also accounted for 463 yards rushing. His passing yards ranked him 10th in the nation.

Clemson had the No. 18 scoring offense in the country with the 75th red zone efficiency. Klubnik understands his team needs to have a killer instinct to get where they want to go this season.

And that’s bad news for opposition defenses.