When the Clemson football team hosted Florida State on Saturday night, the Tigers were in an unfamiliar position. Not only was Clemson at 3-5 and in severe danger of not becoming bowl-eligible at the end of the season, but also, their quarterback, Cade Klubnik, was also injured.
How injured? Well, according to head coach Dabo Swinney, his QB could barely walk. That would not be good, going against a stout Florida State defense that is physical. As it turned out, it wasn’t a problem and Clemson picked up a huge 24-10 win over the Seminoles to improve to 4-5 with three games left. After the game, Swinney gave an eye-opening injury update on Klubnik.
Dabo Swinney Gives Eye-Opening Injury Update on Cade Klubnik
Swinney, who has never been one to mince words after a game, gave an update on his signal caller, who played through a tough injury. According to Swinney, Klubnik was dealing with a quad injury suffered against Duke last week in a wild, 46-45, loss.
“Cade’s awesome,” Swinney said. “He’s just a warrior. The dude is a competitor. That’s back-to-back weeks he’s barely been able to practice. This week, it was a quad. His ankle was fine, but he couldn’t hardly walk all the way till Thursday.
“Each day, he’d take very limited reps. I’d say, ‘Cade…’ And he’d say, ‘I’ll be ready by Saturday. I’ll be ready.’ And Thursday, I said, ‘Cade…’ He’s like, ‘I’ll be ready.’ He’s just unbelievably committed. He’s tough as they come, and the kid cares so much. I’m just really proud of him.”
How good was Klubnik injured? He was 20-for-27 for 221 yards through the air with one touchdown and zero interceptions. For good measure, he scored a touchdown on a 4-yard run. That was a good sign for someone with a quad injury.
“Yeah, on the corner cat that got us. Hit him right in the thigh,” Swinney said. “He could hardly walk. It was swollen up. So yeah, he really couldn’t even practice much. He got just a little bit better each day. Did nothing Monday, hardly anything Tuesday. A little bit on Wednesday, a little bit more on Thursday.
“But he’s just a relentless competitor, and I’m just proud of his leadership. The kid plays with a lot of joy, plays with a lot of toughness. He’s taking care of the football.”
Clemson Puts Mike Norvell’s Job Security In Question
The loss dropped Florida State to 4-5 and puts not only their bowl opportunity in question, but also Mike Norvell’s future. After a loss at Stanford, the school said that they would make a decision on Norvell’s future at the end of the season.
Things haven’t gone as planned with Boston College transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos. The Seminoles have games remaining at home against Virginia Tech before two road games against North Carolina State and Florida to close out the season. Getting to six wins will be tough, even if they can beat the Hokies this upcoming weekend.
Klubnik’s injury gave FSU a chance to steal a win, but Clemson’s QB played tough through an injury most would not have. Nobody should question his toughness.
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