Westlake football is off to a hot start to start off the 2020 season, running off a perfect record through the team’s first five games. The Chaps have topped 50 points in each of those wins, with quarterback Cade Klubnik putting up huge numbers along the way.
A junior and member of the 2022 recruiting class, Klubnik has thrown for more than 1,200 yards through five games. He’s averaging an impressive 15.9 yards per completions and has thrown 12 touchdowns against zero interceptions. Klubnik has also been getting it done on the ground, rushing for 242 yards and 6 scores.
All that success has caught the attention of college coaches, with Klubnik now holding more than 20 scholarship offers. On Saturday night, just after knocking off Oklahoma State in Stillwater, it was the Texas Longhorns who officially entered the race.
“It was about 45 to an hour after the game (Saturday) night. They were actually loading up the buses to head to the airport and then coach (Mike) Yurcich shot me a text and said ‘Hey can you give me a quick call?’ We talked for a little bit and he offered me,” Klubnik said. “I talked to him in about 10 minutes later and talked to him for about 20 minutes. I was really excited. It was pretty cool.”
Being that he plays in Austin, Klubnik is a guy who has unquestionably been on UT’s radar for a while, but the contact between the Texas staff and the talented quarterback had been minimal in recent months since Texas had a commitment from Quinn Ewers. Once Ewers re-opened his recruitment, the UT staff wasted little time in making Klubnik a priority.
“It means a lot to me, for sure,” Klubnik said of the Texas offer. “I don't really have a list or anything, or a top anything just because I really want to get on campuses and I haven't gotten the opportunity to do that. But I would say that they're going to be up there.”
A 6-2, 185-pound dual-threat quarterback, Klubnik holds offers from the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Miami and Washington, to mention but a few. The offer from Texas has definitely caught his attention, but Klubnik said he’s still sorting through all his options and gathering as much information as possible.
“I'm still learning a lot more about the program and stuff but, I would say just the consistency of the football team and the culture,” Klubnik said in regards to what has Texas on his radar. “And obviously a great education.”
Under Yurcich, UT’s first-year offensive coordinator, the Longhorns have featured an offense that has utilized quarterback Sam Ehlinger as both a runner and a passer. Klubnik said he feels he’d fit well in that scheme, should that be the route he chooses to take.
Recently, Klubnik visited the Clemson campus and took in a Clemson game. Though it’s a dead period and he cannot have face-to-face interaction with college coaches, Klubnik said he may try to swing by the Texas campus sometime soon and possibly even take in a UT home game.
“Hopefully. I'll try to make it to one and look all around,” he said. “It's kind of weird because I live here, but I've actually never seen like all the details of the campus and stuff.”
With so many offers on the table and more sure to follow, Klubnik said he’s taking his time with the process. He’s not planning to rush into any sort of decision and is hoping he can begin to take visits as soon as the ongoing dead period is lifted.
“I'm in no rush right now,” Klubnik said. “I'm taking my time and want to take all the visits I can.”
