Dabo Swinney talks QBs, says Clemson wasn’t running up score with Cade Klubnik TD

Clemson football used a big second half to cruise past Georgia Tech in its Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game season opener on Monday night in Atlanta.

Here’s what coach Dabo Swinney had to say about quarterbacks DJ Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik and others after the 41-10 win.

• Swinney said Clemson knew the opener would be a “bit of a feeling-out process” for the offense and credited the defense for “setting the tone” amid early offensive struggles.

• Those early struggles ended up being the “best-case scenario,” Swinney said, because they allowed quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, among others, to push through adversity.

• Swinney praised Uiagalelei for never making “a bad play worse” outside of his first-quarter fumble: “I think you saw DJ do things tonight that we needed to see and he didn’t do last year.” Specifically highlighted Uiagalelei making a few plays with his legs.

• Swinney said backup quarterback Klubnik confirmed “the moment wasn’t too big” on his fourth-quarter drive: “Just poised, accurate. He made some great plays.” Also happy Clemson played itself in a position where Klubnik could take reps against a bigger opponent in a road venue with some but not too much pressure on him.

• Swinney said when putting Klubnik in, “we weren’t trying to run the score up. I needed him to play.” He was excited to get the second-team offensive line some reps, too.

• Clemson limiting Georgia Tech to 2-16 on third downs was “outstanding,” Swinney said. Emphasized Clemson can clean up its perimeter tackling but was overall impressed with the defense’s Game 1 performance.

• Swinney said freshman wide receiver Antonio Williams is “really good player. We’ve seen that all camp.” Said Williams is a polished receiver and route runner already.

• Swinney said Clemson’s rushing production is “the last thing I’m worried about.” He’s more focused on consistency in the passing game. Added that Clemson got a number of short fields on offense, which he’ll never complain about.

• Swinney said freshman wide receiver Adam Randall, who’s recovering from a spring torn ACL, “could’ve probably played tonight” but Clemson doesn’t want to rush him. “We’ll get him back soon.”

• Swinney reiterated that Uiagalelei is Clemson’s starter but “we want to get Cade as much opportunity as we can in the flow of the game, the flow of the season.” Pointed to Uiagalelei getting the similar treatment his freshman season while backing up Trevor Lawrence and how much it helped Uiagalelei when he had to step in for two games.

• Swinney said Clemson “played a lot of complementary football” in its opener. Highlighted the special teams unit for its two punt blocks (by Carson Donnelly and Wade Woodaz), two field goals by BT Potter and an excellent punting night by Aidan Swanson