Quinn Ewers vs. Cade Klubnik: The story behind the epic 2021 QB showdown

Riley Dodge understands why everyone is talking about this story, because he does too.

In January 2021, Texas high school football powers Southlake Carroll and Austin Westlake faced off on the biggest stage: the 6A state championship game at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas. It was a high-profile affair for several reasons, one of which was that the game was nicknamed the “Dodge Bowl,” marking the first father-son matchup in Texas state championship history. Riley, the Southlake coach, was facing his father Todd, the Westlake coach.

The other major reason was that the game was projected to be a shootout between two elite junior quarterbacks named Quinn Ewers and Cade Klubnik.

Ewers was the No. 1 recruit in the country and had already committed to Ohio State; Klubnik was the state’s No. 2 quarterback and was uncommitted at the time. The two knew each other, having played in 7-on-7 tournaments around the state since high school. Klubnik had the advantage and led Westlake to a 52-34 victory — he would win three state titles between 2019 and 2021, the last two as a starter.

On Saturday, the quarterbacks meet again, and in the same state as their last clash, when No. 5 seed Texas (led by Ewers) hosts No. 12 seed Clemson (led by Klubnik) in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

And this time, the stakes are a little higher than they were almost four years ago.

“It’s crazy,” Riley Dodge told FOX Sports. “I think they’re both very mature and wise beyond their years and I think they understand that it’s not about Cade and Quinn, it’s about Quinn going against the Clemson defense and Cade going against the Texas defense.

“I think it’s a natural thing that everyone wants to talk about. It intrigues me too. But they both have a job to do.”

For Ewers, this is a chance to further cement his status among Texas’ great quarterbacks. When he transferred from Ohio State before the 2022 season, he was the Longhorns’ first No. 1 overall prospect to commit since Vince Young in 2002. He has led the program to back-to-back league championship games — Texas won the Big 12 last year and narrowly missed the SEC title to Georgia this year, as well as back-to-back CFP appearances.

Klubnik is warming up after throwing four touchdown passes in Clemson’s win in the ACC championship game. This is an opportunity for him to build on that performance and bring the Tigers one step closer to winning a national title.

And what better than doing it in your hometown? Klubnik is from Austin and will have plenty of friends and family in the stands. He didn’t grow up a Longhorns fan, instead preferring rival Texas A&M, since that’s where most of his family went. But he played high school playoff games at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and watched a few Texas-Texas A&M games there back in the day. Running out onto the field will be a surreal feeling for him.

“It will be interesting,” Klubnik said of his next thrills. “It will be special. But you have a job ahead of you and at the end of the day, everyone [friends] that I have on the other side, they want exactly the same thing as me. So you have to separate that a little bit.

“We have a task at hand and we must take care of business.”

***

The world was a different place the last time these quarterbacks dueled. For one thing, it was during the peak of COVID and fan attendance at the 100,000+ seat AT&T Stadium was limited. “The place would have been packed [otherwise]”Dodge said.

This is because fans wanted to see Ewers against Klubnik, two of the best high school players in the country at the time. Ewers was one of the best-known recruits. He had a bleached blonde mullet and was already committed to playing for the Buckeyes. Klubnik didn’t have the same resume, but he was a future five-star talent.

Klubnik outscored his opponent, going 18 of 20 for 220 yards and a touchdown with 97 rushing yards and two more scores.

You would never have known that he hadn’t thrown a single pass in practice the entire week leading up to the game because he was dealing with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. He had been injured the week before and remembers arriving at halftime of the semi-final thinking he had broken his collarbone because he had never felt that kind of pain.

“We won, I came home and my brother said, ‘Great game!’ and he stabbed me in the shoulder,” Klubnik said. “I couldn’t even lift my arm [the next day] and I’m like, ‘How am I going to play in a state championship game this week?'”

He made it work. In practice, Klubnik would sit behind his backrest, take visual replays, and go through the motions.

“When we got to Saturday, they shot me, I buckled down and went to play,” Klubnik said. “I just fought and I think that’s the team we were and the type of player I am. I’m not going to let an injury stop me from playing.”

Ewers was battling injuries of his own, which has also been an ongoing issue for much of his career at Texas. He missed much of the season and required double hernia surgery. He didn’t return until the third round of the playoffs and then was hit during the Southlake semifinal. Like Klubnik, Ewers didn’t throw the entire week leading up to the championship, but he threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

“I think what I learned a lot about the kid during the playoffs when he got healthy was his physical and mental toughness,” Dodge said. “He has the will to get on the field, he is a great player.”

Westlake led 28-21 at halftime, but the trajectory quickly changed when Michael Taaffe, now the starting safety at Texas, intercepted Ewers in the third quarter. Taaffe finished the game with two interceptions and was named Defensive MVP.

Taaffe, a former walk-on, has become an indispensable part of the Longhorns’ top pass defense. He said he’s given Ewers “a little shit” about those picks since they became college teammates.

“You have to do it, right?” Taaffe said with a smile. “It felt pretty good that a simple assistant took out the number one player in the country.”

Meanwhile, Taaffe and Klubnik have known each other since the third grade. They spent that 2020 COVID season throwing the ball and running routes. “We had nothing else to do but become best friends because we were trying to win a state championship,” Taaffe said. So when the final CFP chart came out, of course, they texted.

“It was all love,” Taaffe said. “‘I love you buddy, I love you too.’ It feels a little weird watching Cade on tape knowing that he was my quarterback, and now I’m going to play against him. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

However, Taaffe doesn’t think his relationship with Klubnik is a big advantage. Sure, he knows Klubnik’s tendencies, but Klubnik also knows his own.

“Cade does everything he can to try to win, he’ll do whatever it takes,” Taaffe said, noting that his friend is “the most competitive player I’ve ever played with,” whether in a pickleball or soccer game.

“I don’t expect Cade to get many outings on Saturday,” Taaffe added. “There probably won’t be many steps out of bounds, especially if you see [me]. “He’s definitely going to lean on me and tell me too.”

And there’s more to this rematch: Clemson starting safety RJ Mickens went to Southlake with Ewers, while Texas defensive ends Ethan Burke and Colton Vasek, offensive lineman Conner Robertson and wide receiver Bryce Chambers are all alumni from Westlake.

“It’s definitely good to have them on our side,” Ewers said. “They wreaked havoc on us in high school.”

When Klubnik reflects on the 2020 showdown, he remembers “a lot of talking, a lot of noise similar to [this week]”He’s looking forward to seeing all of his former teammates and facing Ewers again. The QBs have grown closer over the years, competing in the Elite 11 in 2021 and attending the Manning Passing Academy last summer. If they would, They could sympathize with what it’s like to face Georgia’s stifling defense, as both Texas and Clemson lost to the Bulldogs this season.

Ewers said facing Klubnik a second time will be a “full circle” moment, and Klubnik is “excited to just attack him.”

“I know they have a lot of respect for each other,” Dodge said.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. follow her on @LakenLitman.

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