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FSU football: Breaking down Clemson weaknesses and tendencies

By Kelvin Hunt

TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 15: Head Coach Mike Norvell of the Florida State Seminoles on the sidelines during the game against the Clemson Tigers at Doak Campbell Stadium on Bobby Bowden Field on October 15, 2022 in Tallahassee, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Seminoles 34 to 28. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 15: Head Coach Mike Norvell of the Florida State Seminoles on the sidelines during the game against the Clemson Tigers at Doak Campbell Stadium on Bobby Bowden Field on October 15, 2022 in Tallahassee, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Seminoles 34 to 28. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images) /

Clemson QB Play

Dabo Swinney has recruited the quarterback position as well as anyone in the country over the past decade. It’s a position that allowed Clemson to play at an elite level, despite not amassing top three recruiting classes every year. Swinney finally had a “miss” in five-star DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred to Oregon State after last season.

Former five-star Cade Klubnik played some last year and took over the reigns in the offseason. So far, he’s looked like a young and inexperienced QB in a new offensive scheme. Clemson hasn’t stretched the field vertically much at all, instead working horizontally and mostly shorter routes as we saw in previous clips. Klubnik can run but doesn’t perform well under pressure. Check the videos below:

Clemson has a tendency to run Klubnik on second down, or run the ball in general on that down to attempt to make third down more manageable. Duke rushes four and has a guy spying Klubnik, but he gets caught in the wash and Klubnik picks up the first down(can you tell by now that spying rarely pays off?). FSU linebackers need to have high situational IQ in these situations.

The play below is a variation of what we saw earlier with Shipley. Klubnik can give to the back or keep as he reads the defensive end. The end crashes here, so Klubnik pulls it and picks up the first down. This is something I expect them to run towards Patrick Payton’s side, and this is something they like to run in the red zone.

Klubnik is athletic, but I don’t think he’s close to Jayden Daniels, and he may not be on the same level as what they saw last week. One thing the FSU defensive front must do is collapse the pocket in front of him. Klubnik will lose his poise under pressure and take sacks, or likely throw a bad pass that may result in an interception. Check the video below:

Did you see his happy feet?He has an outlet to his running back wide open, but he folds under the pressure and takes the sack. There is no pocket to step up into with pressure coming off the edge and it’s a negative play.

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