What Clemson football's Dabo Swinney expects from QB Cade Klubnik in Orange Bowl start

Clemson freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik will be asked to do three things when his first career start comes in the Orange Bowl.

Nothing too extraordinary.

"Play within the system, bring that great energy and protect the football," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday after the seventh-ranked Tigers' matchup Dec. 30 (8 p.m., ESPN) against No. 6 Tennessee (10-2) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami became official.

Klubnik's energy was immediate Saturday in Charlotte, where he replaced junior starter DJ Uiagalelei in the third series of the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina. Klubnik sparked the Tigers (11-2) to a 39-10 victory by completing 20 of 24 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a team-high 30 yards with another TD.

"Doing what he's coached to do," Swinney said. "I thought he did an amazing job of that last night. Hopefully, (he can) pick up where he left off. He was accurate, he made good decisions, outside of one or two in the run game. He extended some plays. He did some things with his legs."

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I've learned so much this year," Klubnik said. "I'm just super thankful for just kind of getting to sit back and watch. I feel like I've learned so much. It's been awesome."

In the previous four games, Klubnik played just 15 snaps, none in the 31-30 loss to South Carolina. Clemson coaches continued to say Uiagalelei deserved to start, but that's changed now.

"Moving forward," Swinney said, "Cade will the starter going in and DJ will be the backup."

Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What Clemson football's Dabo Swinney expects from new QB Cade Klubnik