Swinney wants to make sure Klubnik is having fun at Orange Bowl

Cade Klubnik is set to make his first start for the Orange Bowl.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Dec 26 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

Cade Klubnik is settling in as Clemson’s starting quarterback heading into the Orange Bowl, and head coach Dabo Swinney said his progression has been part of a process that started last January. He also wants to make sure that Klubnik is having fun.

Clemson (AP Poll No. 10, Coaches Poll No. 11, CFP No. 7) will attempt to record its seventh 12-win season in team history when it faces consensus No. 6 Tennessee in the 2022 Capital One Orange Bowl on Friday, Dec. 30.

Kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. is set for 8 p.m. ET. Clemson will be making its seventh all-time appearance in the Orange Bowl, a game in which the Tigers hold a 4-2 record. The game was the site of Clemson's first national championship victory on New Year's Day 1982, when the Tigers defeated Nebraska, 22-15. Clemson has won each of its last two Orange Bowl appearances, including a 40-35 win over Ohio State to end the 2013 season and a 37-17 College Football Playoff semifinal win over Oklahoma in 2015.

Klubnik will be making his first collegiate start in the game, a well-deserved start after coming off the bench and completing 20-of-24 pass for 279 yards in the ACC Championship Game.

“It’s been a process. Not just now, it's kind of been a process since he got here last January,” Swinney said of Klubnik. “Kind of an accumulation of practice and meetings and developing physically in summer skills and drills. Obviously, you get into the season, and he's gotten some experience throughout the year. He's done some good things, had some mistakes as well. And so I think the biggest thing is just continuing what we were doing the latter part of the season because he was getting ready.”

Swinney said Klubnik was ready when his number was called.

“We felt like opportunity could come at any point, and he took advantage of it in the championship game,” Swinney said. “So just pick up where he left off. I'm thankful that we've had a couple of weeks to really practice and settle in with him as the starter. So, he just has to do his job, play within the system, take care of the ball, and make sure he's having some fun.”

On the other side of the ball, Swinney said Clemson’s defense will have its hands full with the Tennessee offense.

“Yeah, (first in) total offense, scoring offense, a third, and passing offense. So it's hard to prepare for that,” he said. “They've ranked high in all of those things because nobody's had a lot of success stopping them. So for us, we tried to practice with a great tempo, no huddles. We've tried to make it as unrealistic in practice as we can to try to create the mindset for our guys because they do play at a lightning-fast tempo, so you have to be ready. That's really the best that we can do, and then just making sure that we really understand who they are philosophy wise, what they like to do. Because in a game like this, you're not really going to change who you are. You've got to be good at what you do.”