Cade Klubnik entered the 2025 season viewed by many as a potential first-round quarterback. After being widely projected as an early Day 2 pick, with fringe late Round 1 buzz, in the previous draft cycle, Klubnik made the calculated decision to return to Clemson for his senior season. The goal was simple: continue developing, elevate his draft stock, and prove he belonged firmly among the elite quarterbacks in college football.
That plan didn’t go as expected.
Shrine Bowl Offers Cade Klubnik a Chance to Change the Narrative
While Klubnik’s body of work at Clemson is substantial, the trajectory of his final season raised concerns among NFL evaluators. His PFSN CFB QB Impact Grades tell a revealing story. After posting a 69.9 grade earlier in his career, Klubnik peaked in 2024 with an 82.1, a top-10 mark nationally, before slipping back to a 79.2 in 2025, ranking 67th among qualifying quarterbacks. That bell-curve progression, rather than a linear upward trend, is not what scouts want to see from a senior quarterback expected to take a final leap.
The regression showed up most clearly in his processing speed, consistency as a field general, and down-to-down decision-making. Klubnik often appeared a beat late working through reads, and the confidence that defined his 2024 tape didn’t carry over consistently. While the quarterback shoulders much of the responsibility, Clemson’s offense as a whole struggled to provide stability.
According to PFSN’s CFB Offensive Impact Grades, the Tigers graded out at 76.8, a reflection of uneven quarterback play, but also an offense riddled with moving parts that never fully clicked.
The run game lacked reliability, and the receiver group failed to develop into the dynamic unit many expected. Too often, Klubnik was forced to create outside of structure, which magnified both his athletic strengths and his decision-making flaws.
At 6’2”, 210 pounds, Klubnik doesn’t possess overwhelming size or elite arm talent by NFL standards. Still, his ability is undeniable. He’s a plus athlete with functional mobility, toughness, and fearlessness as both a leader and competitor. There was never any quit in his game. Even during an up-and-down 2025 campaign, he continued to battle for his team and his coaching staff.
Preseason evaluations often labeled him a “Bo Nix-lite” prospect. The shades of that comparison still exist, particularly in terms of movement skills and competitiveness, but the consistency hasn’t been strong enough for the comp to fully stick. At this stage, that archetype represents more of Klubnik’s ceiling than his current reality.
Now, Klubnik arrives at a pivotal moment in his journey. Ranked as QB9 and No. 180 overall on the PFSN Consensus Big Board, he enters the Shrine Bowl with plenty to prove. In a weaker perceived quarterback class, a strong week of practices could be significant. Demonstrating command, decisiveness, and confidence in a game-like environment would go a long way toward restoring scouts’ confidence.
This is his final opportunity with the pads on, his last chance to remind evaluators why he was once viewed as a high-upside, early-round prospect. A strong showing could firmly place him back into the Day 2 conversation, potentially in the Round 2–3 range. For Cade Klubnik, the Shrine Bowl isn’t just another all-star event; it’s a defining crossroads in how his Clemson legacy and NFL future will ultimately be remembered.
