Cade Klubnik puts trust in his experience
Rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik isn’t lacking confidence heading into his first NFL preseason game.
It comes from the many big games he’s quarterbacked in high school and at Clemson and the work he’s put in over the years and since the Jets drafted him in the fourth round. Klubnik knows the speed of the NFL game is different and he has to process things faster, but he falls back on his preparation and experience.
“I’m confident in the work that I’ve put in, the studying,” Klubnik said. “I’m just chasing to be the best I can be every day.”
“When the fire’s blazing,” Klubnik added, “you have a little bit of a presence, kind of like I’ve been here before. Obviously, the speed is different, all of that. But it’s still football and being able to just have a lot of games under my belt has definitely helped.”
Like all rookies, Klubnik has had good and not-so-good moments. He threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Arian Smith in Wednesday’s joint practice against Tampa. A few series later, he launched an ill-advised deep pass trying to avoid a sack and was picked off.
Klubnik admits he’s “got a long way to go.” Aaron Glenn agrees, but he likes Klubnik's approach and potential.
“I've seen him grow each and every day, and that was the expectation for that player anyway,” Glenn said. “There's still a lot of growing for him to do when it comes to being a quarterback in the NFL, but I think the one thing that he does, he takes on the challenge.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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