One of the opening games of the 2024 College Football Playoff (CFP) is almost scripted out of Hollywood. The game is being played in Austin, Texas this Saturday Night under the lights. The #5 University of Texas Longhorns play host to the #12 Clemson Tigers.
The Hollywood part is that both Quarterbacks, Quinn Ewers for Texas and Cade Klubnik of Clemson, are native sons of Texas. Both were 5-star Texas high school Quarterbacks and this is not the first time they have competed for a Championship. In January 2021 the two QBs met face to face in the Texas 6A State Championship finals.
Quinn at Southlake Carroll
Quinn Ewers had “Star QB” written all over him from the time his family moved to Southlake, Texas. In fact, as a sixth grader he was offered a football scholarship by Graham Harrell, the OC and QB coach at North Texas State at the time. In his sophomore year at Southlake, Quinn Ewers passed for 3,998 yards with 45 TD passes against only 3 interceptions. Crazy production. The team would get as far as the state quarterfinals.
Entering his junior year in 2020, Quinn Ewers was on everyone’s watch list. While he would miss several games due to injury, he still posted 28 TD passes and again with only 3 pics while taking the Southlake Carroll Dragons to a 12-1 record entering the 2020 Texas 6A State finals in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Cade at Westlake
His opponent would be QB Cade Klubnik from Westlake High School. Westlake just happens to be in… Austin, Texas. Cade has been here before on a Friday Night. You see that Hollywood thing I was telling you about? There’s more.
To get to that 2020 Championship final, Cade, as a junior and in his first season as QB1, directed Westlake to a clean 13-0 record with the Chaparrals’ offense scoring 57.8 points per game. Cade’s contributions included 3,495 yards passing along with 35 TD passes against only 3 Interceptions. A monster season, even for Texas.
The Legacies
Imagine the pressure and expectations put on these two young Texas Quarterbacks growing up and developing within their respective Texas high school cultures. Southlake Carroll had an almost unmatched legacy of Championships for Quinn Ewers to reflect upon. The Dragons were high school national champs in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The school has been a Texas State Champion 8 times and runner-up many more.
Cade Klubnik at Westlake High was trying to live up to a legacy of four state championships plus an NFL roster of alumni Quarterbacks that include Drew Brees, Nick Foles and most recently Sam Ehlinger, a Texas Longhorn Sugar Bowl MVP.
The Hollywood Thing
The journey of both Cade Klubnik and Quinn Ewers to the College Football Playoff tracks a little like the book by Buzz Bissinger, “Friday Night lights” and the followup movie and TV series.
The book explores the role of high school football in small-town Texas culture and the impact it has on the community. It also explores how players and coaches respond to opportunities and setbacks. As coach Taylor says in the movie, “Every man, at some point in his life is going to lose a battle. He is going to fight and he is going to lose. But what makes him a man, is that in the midst of that battle, he does not lose himself.”
Before you tune into the College Football Playoffs I strongly suggest you binge a bit on TV’s Friday Night Lights. Coach Taylor, Tami, Riggins, Street, Smash, Tyra, Vince and Landry. Oh my.
That First Battle
But back to that Friday night face-off of high school powerhouses in January 2021… Westlake and Cade Klubnik prevailed 52-34 over Quinn Ewers at Southlake.
Cade was almost flawless, hitting 18 of 20 for 220 yards and one TD. He showcased his dual-threat capabilities with an additional 97 yards rushing. Quinn was no slouch, but his team fell short even with the QB hitting 23 of 39 for 351 yards and 3 TDS. His 2 pics may have blunted the effort.
What are the Football Star Ratings?
In their Texas high school careers both Cade Klubnik and Quinn Ewers achieved the elusive 5-star recruiting rating. But what does that mean? How does a high school football player become a 5-star? It’s relevant to this story as BOTH of these Texas QBs achieved 5-star status. How does it happen?
First, you need to know that “star” ratings are generated by just a few football recruiting/media outlets. The top four are generally considered to be 247Sports, ESPN, On3 and Rivals. They award rankings between 1 to 5 stars to high school football players all over the country.
Guidelines
The basic guideline is that the 2-star football player is a mid-major D-1 prospect, a 3-star player is in the top 750 level of players, a 4-star is considered to be above average to elite and in the top 250-300 rated players and a 5-star is considered to be one of the nations top 25-30 or so elite players and virtually a lock to play in the NFL.
The Elusive 5-Star
It’s important to recognize that each year these services (they don’t always agree) identify only about 30 5-Star recruits. That’s 30 TOTAL recruits. Not 30 Quarterbacks but 30 elite players. In any given year a high school class will produce one or two and no more than three 5-Stars across every position.
How hard is it to be ranked at two stars or above? Well, consider there are about 15,000 high schools across the country that field a varsity football team. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the 2023-2024 school year had 1,031,508 high school students participating in varsity football. That number includes 4,094 girls. Texas had the most participants with 859,301. So if you’re trying to be a 5-Star… It aint easy!
The High School to College Transition
If you are a 2-Star you are in the top 1,000 players in the country. If you are a 5-Star you are one of the top 30 players. Out of over 1,000,000 prospects. Now that’s elite! And just to put a final reality check on how hard it is to be great? Only about 7% of all high school football players will go on to play in college. Only 3% will play at the D-l level. And Finally, of all college players only 0.41% made an NFL opening day roster in 2022.
So how does 247Sports, ESPN, On3 and Rivals cull out approximately 1,000 players from a data base of over 1 million? Well, in most cases the players need to come to them. After actual game-day performances, the next level of evaluation comes via summer camps. There are hundreds of summer football camps and many are held on the college campuses that are recruiting them. But there are also a few elite camps that draw, via invitation, the elite players.
The Elite 11
We’re going to take a closer look at what’s called The Elite 11 Quarterback Camp because it is, once again, where we found Quinn Ewers and Cade Klubnik competing face to face.
The Elite 11 is a Quarterback competition for high school rising seniors. Participants submit videos of their skills for consideration to be one of 400-500 selected for the regional competitions. The top 20 or so QBs are then culled down and invited to the finals which is typically held at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
In the finals of the Elite 11 the top 11 QBs are split into teams from a pool of 162 players of different positions in a flag football tournament. The Quarterbacks also compete in other passing events, but the flag tournament is the showcase.
First Quinn Reclassifies
Following the January 2021 Texas High School Championship Quinn Ewers was rated as a 5-Star Quarterback in the recruiting class of 2022. He was also ranked as the #1 Quarterback in the country and the #1 overall prospect at any position. Pretty lofty air. Cade Klubnik was right behind Quinn but rated as a 4-Star and in the top 10 national QB prospects. Remember they were both juniors returning for the 2021 high school season.
But Quinn had second thoughts. Initially he had committed to the Texas Longhorns before the 2020 season. Quinn had been awarded a perfect 1.000 247Sports composite rating to go with his 5-Star. The last Longhorn QB recruit to carry that distinction was Vince Young back in 2002.
However, Quinn was given incentive by the Ohio State Collective, GT Sports Marketing, who signed Ewers to a $1.4 million Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal. One of the largest in high school football at the time. In October 2020 Ewers decommitted from Texas and committed to The Ohio State University.
OOOPS
Turns out Quinn Ewers had another problem. In 2021, Texas was one of only three states (Illinois, Mississippi), that had a law prohibiting NIL money to high school student-athletes. Quinn Ewers could not collect a penny while he was still enrolled in high school.
Ewers’ solution was to reclassify as a 2021 high school grad (he had the credits to graduate) and forego his senior year at Southlake Carroll. The QB had built up enough playing equity to be recruited by the Buckeyes AND sign a $1.4 NIL deal without playing his senior season !
Battle ll
So in the Elite 11 competition in June 2021 Quinn Ewers and Cade Klubnik found themselves locked up in another face-to-face battle for best high school QB in America. 247Sports evaluated the finals: “Wire to wire the Clemson-bound passer (Klubnik) was at the top of the rankings after each day and ends up at the top on the one that matter’s most, the final ones. Klubnik helped his Royal team to the 7 on 7 tournament title and was also named the Elite 11 MVP. “
And Cade and Quinn were not alone, as Devin Brown (USC commit ) finished second, Conner Weigman (Texas A&M commit) fourth, Quinn Ewers sixth, Ty Simpson (Alabama commit) seventh, and Drew Allar (Penn State) eight.
So How Did it All Play Out for Cade?
With Quinn Ewers reclassifying to the recruiting class of 2021 and enrolling at Ohio State, Cade Klubnik rose to 5-Star status following a brilliant senior year at Westlake, which included another 6A Texas State Championship. Cade would also be the #1 rated QB in the country, Gatorade Football Player of the Year and keep his commitment to Clemson with an early enrollment in 2022.
Tracking Quinn
The journey wasn’t quite yet over for Quinn Ewers. Yes he enrolled at OSU and yes he started banking his NIL money. But things didn’t exactly work out on the field. It was assumed by the Ewers camp that Quinn would be sliding into the QB1 slot at Ohio State after the graduation of Justin Fields. But the QB Room in Columbus was crowded, with the likes of CJ Stroud (another Elite 11 MVP), Kyle McCord (5-Star), and Jack Miller (4-Star).
In his freshman year (2021) in Columbus, Quinn Ewers saw very limited playing time, while CJ Stroud blossomed into a full blown All-American. Ewers played in exactly one game and attempted zero passes. NIL or not, Quinn Ewers was hitting the portal, and he already knew his destination was Austin, Texas.
Quinn on Saturdays
With Quinn now at Texas and Cade at Clemson, both of these Texas 5-Stars elevated to QB1 by the end of the 2022 collegiate season. Their teams and career trajectories have criss-crossed more than once over the past three seasons. Each has one year of eligibility left, but both are presumed ready to test the draft.
Quinn is not as mobile and perhaps not as durable having missed 7 games over the past three years, but he has a great release and exquisite touch. He reminds me of Joe Montana; a gutty competitor who doesn’t overwhelm with athleticism but finds ways to win. He threads tight windows. He’s accurate on the run.
He is 25-8 as the Longhorns’ starter, including 12-2 and 11-2 over the past two seasons with his team in the CFP. His trajectory has been a bit down. This is partly due to injury this year, and partly because they dropped two to the Georgia Bulldogs. It could also have a little to do with another 5-Star, Arch Manning, breathing down his neck. A playoff run could elevate his sliding NFL draft stock. Plus he’ll never have to pay for a beer in Texas.
Cade on Saturdays
Cade’s trajectory seems to be rising. He struggled with inconsistency early at Clemson. His decision-making came into question. There were inexplicable throws and missed receivers that contributed to a subpar 63.5% completion percentage. He’s 19-8 as the Clemson starter.
But after a miserable thumping by Georgia in the season opener, both Clemson and Klubnik’s season has turned. The touchdown passes to interception ratio is elite. His 4.65 forty foot-speed seems even faster at times as Cade demonstrated in the Pitt game. With the Tigers down 20-17 and less than two minutes remaining, Cade took a Quarterback draw 50 yards through the Pitt defense for the winning score.
He and the Tigers have been on a roll ever since. He has his team at 10-3 and in the CFP. Considering his improved trajectory I’d like to see Cade come back to Clemson for his senior year and buff up the polish on his NFL draft stock.
Battle lll
These are the two QB warriors facing off this Saturday night under the lights in Austin. They are in an elite club and have earned every award and triumph that comes with playing on the biggest stages of both high school and college football. This Saturday Night, as Quinn Ewers and Cade Klubnik wait in their respective locker rooms and then ultimately the stadium tunnels prior to kickoff, one wonders what must be going through their minds.
I’m sure for just a brief moment it’s a quiet but memorable stream of games gone by and opportunities missed on the fields of the Texas plains. Afterwards you don’t think much about the victories, you pain over the losses. The wins don’t need to be fixed, they speak for themselves. So you say to yourself, “If I only had known then what I know now,” and you convince yourself the outcome would be different.
The crowd roars and they both are jolted back to tonight. As they run onto the field their hearts pound with anticipation. Their legs are lighter than air. They grin like this is a walk in the park. They both want this game on their shoulders. They want the ball on the last drive they’ll ever have in Austin on this Saturday Night. One man will lose this battle, but neither Cade nor Quinn will lose themselves. They know how to fight the good fight.
Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can’t Lose