Kirk Herbstreit had a lot of praise for Cade Klubnik's character, dissecting his Clemson season and 2026 NFL Draft potential amid high expectations.
Cade Klubnik entered the season largely viewed as the top quarterback in the nation, with some analysts even projecting he would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But, while the signal-caller has shown a good deal of potential, he did not quite meet the expectations. Whether or not the way the bar was set sky-high was exactly fair is up to opinion.
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit recently weighed in on Klubnik -- with his dog Peter right alongside him -- during an event in Nashville hosted by Raising Cane's.
Herbstreit had a lot of praise of Klubnik's character, though he didn't exactly hit the mark in some other areas, according to the analyst.
"Cade Klubnik is one of the classiest guys I have ever covered," Herbstreit told me me when I asked him about the Tigers quarterback.
"He didn't live up to what a lot of the fans expected him to be... but that's a tough school to go to. What Deshaun Watson accomplished, what Trevor Lawrence accomplished, and then looking at (who) will be the next guy to do that."
While wins aren't a quarterback stat, there's no denying Klubnik and the rest of the Clemson team did not achieve the same level of success they usually do at 7-5, marking the worst season for the program in over a decade.
"He had a great career, just obviously wasn't able to win as much as he had wanted to," Herbstreit continued.
Klubnik, who prepares for one final bowl game appearance, finished out the 2025 season with a completion rate of over 66%, passing for 2,750 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions over 11 games.
He also had 107 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
It will be interesting to see how things unfold after Penn State and Clemson kick off at noon ET on Saturday, Dec. 27 in Yankee Stadium. Klubnik has an additional chance to boost his draft stock here ahead of the offseason showcases.
The quarterback's projection in mock drafts across various outlets differ, though he's largely expected to be a late Day 1 or early Day 2 selection.