Cade Klubnik's Rise To Clemson Quarterback and Testimony

heading into the 2024 season the Clemson Tigers have high expectations they're coming off a five-game winning streak and return a lot of talent including quarterback Cade kumnick he has improved a lot over the last two seasons and looks to have a breakout year as a junior at Clemson like many athletes Kate has had a lot of ups and downs in his athletic career his relationship with God has helped him during these trials and today we're going to look at Kate club Nick's path to becoming the starting quarterback at Clemson Kate kumnick was raised in Austin Texas and started playing flag football early on at age four his dad would coach his flag football team and kade's older brother Reed would also be heavily involved with football he would grow upw watching players like Nick fos and Sam Ellinger play at his local high school Club Nick would be inspired to play the quarterback position and would do so as he progressed through rocket football during this time his parents would bring him to a welcoming church and God would surround Cade with fellow Believers you know I gave my life to Lord at a young age with with my dad when I was younger and um you know we go to a great church here in Austin and um just it's it's definitely just something that uh has just always been a part of my life and um it's just really taken off over the past I would say two years year and a half just not even because of football but just the people that God has kind of putting my life and the mentors that have kind of come into my life so um it's been really good as he reached High School Kate would become the starting quarterback as a sophomore for Westlake High School their quarterback room would be deep and with Club Nick's inexperience he would be demoted to the backup role during their state championship run in 2019 Kade would become the starting quarterback during his junior year and Westlake would be nearly Unstoppable they would go perfect during the regular season but find themselves down to Northshore for a chance to advance to the state championship with their season on the line westlake's fate would lie in the hands of Kade Club here's the fourth down play to try to reclaim the lead late in the fourth quarter the snap the Zone read and into the end zone goes Kate clck touchdown Wesley the junior what a call from Todd Dodge The Zone re the fake to the dive knack for wasn't the ball carrier it was number six and he goes in for the score touchdown Westlake with 143 to play in the ball game Kade would state that the touchdown was one of the most memorable moments of his high school career and Westlake would advance to the state championship game they would beat South Lake Carol and Quinn yers with Cade finishing off the season throwing for 3500 yards and 15 touchdowns the offers would start to roll in for Club Nick and a difficult decision loomed in front of him undecided on where to go Kade would attend a Clemson football game looking for answers he would take a walk around campus and notice all the Believers and fellow Christians surrounding him Club Nick would realize the opportunity that God had laid before him all thanks to a coach who suggested him to walk around I came up to a game just on my own like not on a visit or anything like with the coaches but and I remember one of our coaches said like I was like hey is there anything like that I should do while I'm here and he was like just go around town and just try to talk to people and just see how that goes and just see like just experience Clemson for yourself and I remember just walking around like literally talking to random people about their experience here and it was all just like the greatest people ever just the nicest people like just people who love the Lord like asking like how I'm doing like all this amazing stuff and I was like this is like the greatest place ever uh I wasn't even in the facility yet um and like and then I finally got to know the coaches and like all this and like it's just like everybody in that facility is like first of all loves Jesus like they really do like coach Sweeney like he's he's part preacher he really is like anytime he gets to get in front of us like he's going to have a message for us that will stick with us forever um and like that's that's so cool to me is like his him truly using his platform to impact like young men right and like that's that's so cool to me um but like that was that was the easiest decision ever it's just coming here and like I really didn't feel at peace about going anywhere else Club Nick would commit to the Tigers heading into his senior year and Westlake High School would be poised for another big season he would be excited for the opportunity to win another state championship and his future ahead at Clemson big things were on the horizon for Cade but an injury his senior year would put his faith to the test yes so my senior year uh we were playing uh like fourth or fifth game of the year and my backup who was like literally my best friend like closest friend probably still closest friend to this day uh his guy named Christian Edgar and he was my backup same year as me so he's a senior and I end up tearing my left AC joint so I was out for 3 weeks um like had never really had like a super Serious injury that held me out in high school uh other than my junior year I was out like doesn't matter but so I end up sitting out three weeks and I was you know I was upset like I was mad like I didn't know how long I was going to be out and uh Christian end up getting to come in for for three games and had 15 touchdowns in three games lit it up like literally insane like freaking bald out and end up getting an opportunity to go play quarterback at Rice because of my injury wow so literally had only played football for three years never would have dreamed of playing college football and now he's playing college ball at Rice right now like freaking living the dream and like that was the coolest thing ever for me like that was probably the top three moment of like things that God's done is like I had to go through suffering so that somebody else could like literally go through the biggest Joy ever and like that was the best thing ever that was a I would do it a hundred times out 100 Kade would see how God works in mysterious ways and the injury would strengthen his faith Not only would his friend Christian be offered a scholarship at Rice but club niik would still have the opportunity to play in their state championship game Westlake High School would win their third state championship in a row and Kade would go 30 and 0 in his high school career he would have a quick transition to Clemson as he would enroll early and move in at the start of January after seeing the culture that Clemson had to offer Club could pray to be surrounded by Believers I left in uh January my senior year so I knew I was leaving early um and I just you know I just prayed for about six or seven months that God would just bring such such great people into my life that could just you know um Carry Me in my path and in my journey in my faith and that's what I was just one thing I was so thankful for it was like because I just had such a great group around me and just guys that kind of my bumpers and bulling just keep me Keep Me in My Lane and um it was amazing to see how God worked just the moment that I got here within a few weeks um I had already been invited to two Bible studies and um three times from three different people at church and got invited at FCA and like so many different things people inviting me to and I was like what is going on like these are just random people like just coming at me just you know trying to trying to get me involved with Jesus and I'm like this is exactly what I prayed for um you I just I told them that whenever I was there I was like this is literally what I'm praying for like you are a testament to what God is doing and um that was just it was so cool to see and just you know I hope that I can be that for somebody else now God would surround Cade with fellow Believers and he would fit right into the culture at Clemson as the 2022 season neared kumnick would enter another quarterback battle this time with DJ U it would be announced that DJ would be the starter but Kade would still get some opportunities he would get to come in during the last drive against Georgia Tech in March the Tigers all the way down the field Club Nick would cap off the drive with his first career touchdown but an even bigger opportunity awaited him the Tigers would be 8-0 heading into a road game at Notre Dame they were down 14 points in the third quarter and head coach dbo Sweeney made the decision to put in Club Nick Club Nick rolling has pressure in his face has to just throw this ball and it's intercepted picked off by Benjamin Morrison having the game of his life Kate's interception would lead to a Notre Dame touchdown and Clemson would lose the game 35 to 14 Clemson's undefeated season would be no more but the interception would remind Club Nick that his life is not based on the game of football but rather glorifying God it was in the Notre Dame game I got I got put in for one play like one drive um and you know I'm I'm just felt a lot of confidence going in the game and just you know ready to get in there and um you know end up end up throwing an interception my second play and on the road against Notre Dame like I'm I'm pissed you know I'm like shoot like you know this is you know this is a good shot for me to really get some playing time and um just you know felt gr about the game plan just felt good and you know I didn't get another I didn't really get another shot that game and that was really hard um and I just remember comeing to sideline and uh me and a buddy got uh me and a buddy named Hamp green who's one of our receivers um who's probably like one of the most Godly guys I know on our team um really just God the guys I know uh we just we were just talking we were just like dang isn't it so good that we're just more than a football player like because like if I was just a football player like my whole week would be ruined my whole month would be ruined like this would not just be like a one like a 10minute sad moment like this would carry on for me forever like that I just ruined that opportunity but like like this is like it's so much more than just football to me and like I can just I went to bed that night knowing like all right like that's just like that that's what it is and I'm I'm looking for something greater than just football so um that was just really cool like we just got to like sit there and I just like was at peace about like just throwing a pick in like one of the biggest games of my life and you know that's how it went the interception would seem like a blown opportunity to many but Cade would see that God had more in store for him heading into the ACC Championship Game DJ yui yal would be struggling on their first possession Clemson would go three and out with DJ throwing two incompletions on the third Drive of the game Club Nick would get thrown into the game down seven he would have an unbelievable performance going 20 for 24 with nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns he would win the ACC Championship game MVP and during his interview give the credit to God for giving him the peace in a situation like he was in Kade you come in during the third series of the game and you absolutely take over how are you able to be so successful and create such a spark for your offense yeah um you know I just think my peace comes from God and as simple as that and um just I'm so thankful for all the people that I get to be surrounded by every single day um just you know whether it's the strength strength uh strength coaches um or you know the QB room I mean we have such a tight group your first significant amount of playing time and your first real impact on a game and it's in an ACC Championship win could you ever have imagined this outcome tonight no I think I I never could have U but you know it's just God's timing and just you know I'm so excited Clemson would play Tennessee in the Orange Bowl and clubok would get the start due to DJ entering the transfer portal he would struggle throughout the game throwing two interceptions in the 31 to 14 loss to the volunteers kade's season was full of highs and lows but he would get through the Through The Growing Pains of his freshman season as he entered 2023 many projected the Tigers to have a good year with a season of experience under Club Nicks Bell the season would not start out great as ninth ranked Clemson would be upset by the Duke Blue Devils the game would be full of mistakes from the Tigers but they would clean up the sloppy play as the season progressed they would lose a pair of close games to Florida State in Miami but many could tell that if Clemson found their stride that they would be dangerous the Tigers would win their last four games including big wins against Notre Dame in North Carolina clemon would face off against Kentucky in the 2023 Gator Bowl Cade would lead the Tigers on a game-winning Drive making some big throws to get them down to the goal line the game would be capped off by a Phil mafa touchdown and Clemson would end the season on a five-game winning streak during the offseason Club Nick would work hard to be a more consistent quarterback he would see that God had given him the desire to succeed and as he enters the 2024 season the dream of winning a national championship Looms in front of kid I think I mean it's it's a bold take but I think a common mistake that a lot of guys say is like well yeah but like I know guys give me this but like prob like I've worked so hard for this like I've done I put all the I've woken up early I've done all these hours I've done all the workouts I've done all the training but it's like yeah but like somebody had to give you the grit and the want to and the desire to go put that work in right so it's like you weren't like you didn't decide to have that um and like that's like God gave you that desire so like you had to get better but like God gave you the desire to get better and like like I see that in myself as like i' I'm kind of I'm a worker be like I'm freaking working my butt off all the time so that you know my dream right now is you know to go stand on that stage n national championship trophy in my hand um and instead of be talking about how great I played or how great blah blah blah is like just get up there and just freaking talk about Jesus that's my biggest dream right now it's so like that's that's why I'm freaking working my butt off right now yeah is like I want to get to that point I want to go do that um I want to go stay on that stage and talk about how great God is and not just like thank you God boom keep going like I want to like I want to get into it Kate club's career may have just begun but he has already learned a lot through the hardships he's had to face his injury in high school provided an opportunity for his friend and God's timing led to an incredible performance in the 2022 ACC Championship Game Club Nick's relationship with the Lord has helped him during the ups and downs of his football career and giv him peace despite the stresses of being a quarterback now we're going to look at the importance of surrounding ourselves with fellow Christian Believers hey what is up guys it is David with athletes for Christ and today we're going to be reading some scripture and looking at the importance of surrounding ourselves with fellow Believers so in Kade Club Nick's story we saw that when he got to Clemson God blessed him with an amazing Community Cade was surrounded by Believers and we saw that in his testimony um Cade stated that people were inviting them to church people were bringing them to life groups and we see that we need this in our lives as well it's really important to surround ourselves with fellow Believers because it helps not only strengthen our faith but it also steers us away from the sins and desires of this world because when we fall towards sin it kind of puts up this wall between us and God and it hinders our relationship with him and when that happens ultimately we can fall towards sin and in the Bible verses we're going to see today we see that sin leads to harm so the first Bible verse we're going to read is Proverbs 13:20 and it says He Who Walks With The Wise grows wise but a companion of fools suffers harm so we see that when we surround ourselves with wise people we ourselves also become wise but when we surround ourselves with fools it's ultimately going to lead to harm and this applies to our world today a lot because we have a lot of Temptations and a lot of sin that surround us every day but we need to surround ourselves with fellow Believers and with good influences because then we won't ultimately suffer harm because although we may not pay the price for our sin in the moment It ultimately is going to lead to harm and we see this in this Bible verse another story in the Bible that shows us the importance of surrounding ourselves with fellow Believers is the Book of Exodus and today we're going to be specifically looking at at Exodus chap 34 but a little background to the Book of Exodus so God promised the Israelites this land and he promised this to Abraham and Isaac and eventually they have to go on this very long Trek through all this territory to get to this Promised Land but the issue is the territories that they're going through the people in these territories worship other gods and they are doing all these sinful things and the Lord speaks to them and he speaks to them in Exodus 34:12 and he says be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going so this is the territories that they are going through and he goes on to say or they will become a snare among you break down their altars smash their Sacred Stones and cut down their poles do not worship any other God for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God so we can kind of compare this to the world we live in today um even a thousand years ago it was important to surround ourselves with fellow Believers so the Israelites are going to be going through all this territory with all this sin and with these people that were worshiping other gods but God was kind of telling them that you have seen the Miracles that I have done and um you guys are going to be going in this pack together going through these territories and you guys need to stick together and that's kind of the same thing that we see in our Christian faith as well we need to surround ourselves with fellow Believers and stick together and although the world is going to tell us to go one way we need to go the other we need to stick to our faith and God is saying the same thing as the Israelites are going through this territory to get to the promised land they're going to face Temptations they're going to be faced they're going to be dealt with difficult situations but they need to hold each other accountable and strengthen their faith and this is the same thing in our world today it's no different today than it was a thousand years ago and I think that's such a cool thing about the Bible is that there are so many stories in the Old Testament that you know they're a thousand years old but they still apply to our world today and um we saw this in Kate kumnick story as well we saw how important it was for him to be surrounded by fellow Believers his faith was strengthened and when the time came he was able to glorify God in the ACC Championship game I hope you guys gained something through these Bible readings today and if you did let me know down in the comments section down below and as always if you have any athletes feel free to suggest him down there as well and thank you guys so much for watching this video and I hope you guys have a great day