When Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik meet in the College Football Playoff on Saturday, it won’t be the first time. Depending on who you talk to, it might not even be the most important time.
The first time these two players met was Jan. 15, 2021, in the Texas Class 6A-Division I State Championship Game for the 2020 season. Both are traditional powerhouses in affluent areas. Klubnik’s Austin Westlake was the reigning state champion and undefeated at 13-0. Ewers’ Southlake Carroll was 12-1, overcoming an early season loss to rattle off 11 straight wins to reach the title game, beating household programs like Duncanville and Permian — of Buzz Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights fame — to get to Jerry World.
In a state filled with championship programs, Westlake and Carroll are about as good as it gets. Westlake is the home of Drew Brees, Nick Foles and Sam Ehlinger. Carroll owned the 2000s with state championships under Chase Daniel, Riley Dodge and Kenny Hill. Adding to the drama, legendary Carroll coach Todd Dodge moved to the Westlake sideline. On the Carroll sideline? His son, Riley, a star coach in the making. It was dubbed the “Dodge Bowl.”
“From a storyline perspective, it was kind of as Texas high school football as it gets,” Mike Roach, a Texas-based recruiting reporter for 247Sports, said.
Heading into the game, though, there was a feeling that the quarterback matchup was one that would be remembered for a long time. When the dust settled, Ewers and Klubnik emerged as five-star quarterbacks nationally in the Class of 2021 and 2022, an embarrassment of riches for one high school football game.
At the time, both Klubnik and Ewers were members of the Class of 2022, though Ewers would later classify to 2021 so he could enroll early at Ohio State and benefit from the new NIL rules. Even then, Ewers was the golden child.
Roach remembers first seeing Ewers throw during a 7-on-7 event when Ewers was in eighth grade, and knew he was a potential No. 1 player. It was clear early on Ewers, with his quick release and flick-of-the-wrist darts, had a chance to be special. The moment he was eligible for the rankings, he was ranked the No. 1 player with a perfect 100 rating in the Top247. He was billed, in an article by 247Sports unveiling the list, as the “best junior QB prospect since Trevor Lawrence.”
In two seasons at Carroll, Ewers threw for 6,445 yards, 73 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.
“He was the best thrower of the ball at the high school level that I had seen, and to this day, he is the best pure thrower in high school I’ve ever seen,” 247Sports national scouting analyst Gabe Brooks said. Brooks lives in Texas and has scouted Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray among the litany of arms the state produces on an annual basis.
“There’s something about the way he threw, when you see it live there on field level, it’s almost like on the back half of throws, velocity was increasing. It’s like he had late life on throws, kind of in the same way that you might say a pitcher has late life on a pitch. It was so effortless.”
To the contrary, Klubnik was in Ewers’ shadow. Calling him a late bloomer isn’t quite fair. He had Division I athleticism to play any position and was rated a four-star before taking over as the full-time starter at Westlake. However, he didn’t take over as the starting quarterback until his junior year and backed up now-Illinois QB Kirkland Michaux on Westlake’s first state title team since 1996.
With Ewers initially committed in the Class of 2022, Tom Herman’s staff at Texas didn’t pay Klubnik much attention. Why would they? They had the No. 1 player in the class locked in. When Ewers decommitted and reclassified, the staff tried to move on Klubnik. Weeks later, the staff was fired. The Ewers decommitment was no small part.
But in the meantime, Klubnik just kept getting better. He revamped his passing mechanics after his junior season and impressed during camps, including the Elite 11 Finals, where he was 247Sports’ MVP. Klubnik won two state championships in two years and posted a 30-0 record. He threw only seven interceptions in 687 career passes.
On Jan. 26, 2022, a month after signing with Clemson — which had, for what it’s worth, initially targeted Ty Simpson as its preferred QB take in the class — he finally settled as the No. 13 player and No. 2 quarterback in the Top247 rankings, higher than anybody but Penn State’s Drew Allar. Simpson signed with Alabama.
“He just kind of continued a gradual ascension,” Brooks said. “He was great during All-American bowl week. He had an ascension that was like each step, he was checking off one achievement after the other.”
And that takes us back to Jerry World, where they played. It was golden child vs. upstart. Dallas vs. Austin, Dodge vs. Dodge. Klubnik is an outgoing cheerleader — 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins has described him as a golden retriever or energizer bunny. Ewers is more reserved. In a battle of opposites, the reigning champion Westlake came out with something to prove.
Klubnik was a perfect game manager for the Chaps, connecting on 18-of-20 passes for 220 yards, rushing for 97 yards and adding three touchdowns. As usual, he was quietly excellent and stayed mistake-free. While the fans came for a quarterback battle, and got plenty of points in a 52-34 decision, it was really the defense that owned the day.
In a story that’s become unfortunately familiar to college football fans, Ewers missed much of his junior season with a core injury. Heading into game week, Ewers was questionable to play because of how banged up he was. Going against Westlake, the damage showed.
Ewers fought his heart out in what became his final high school football game. He threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns. However, he also turned the ball over three times with two interceptions and a fumble. Hilariously, all three turnovers were caused by future Texas teammates. Despite the mistakes, Ewers still looked every bit the part of a generational quarterback recruit with his singular effort. It just wasn’t enough.
Defensive end Ethan Burke strip-sacked Ewers on the final drive of the game to ultimately cap off a victory. Safety Michael Taaffe was the heart and soul of the Westlake defense, despite not boasting a single FBS offer. In the third quarter, Taaffe made a leaping one-handed interception off Ewers that later was the No. 1 highlight on SportsCenter. It was one of two interceptions he had on the day.
After high school, Taaffe walked on at Texas where he became teammates with Ewers. This week, he was named an AP All-American.
Since moving to the collegiate level, both Ewers and Klubnik have lived up to their billing at the collegiate level. Ewers is 25-8 as a starter and led Texas to its first conference championship in 15 years and back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances. Klubnik has led Clemson to two ACC championships and took the program back to the CFP for the first time since Trevor Lawrence, albeit with a 12-team field.
Years later, Texas teammates still remind Ewers of the game. Seven players on the Texas roster went to Westlake, including Taaffe and Burke. Clemson safety R.J. Mickens was teammates with Ewers at Carroll and now plays with Klubnik, though he graduated a year before the famous “Dodge Bowl.”
SMU tight end RJ Maryland (Carroll), Notre Dame wideout Jaden Greathouse (Westlake) and Air Force running back Owen Allen (Carroll) also rank among those to play in this legendary matchup and go on to major college football success.
On Saturday, Ewers is favored to best Klubnik in the rematch. This time around, he has the No. 1 defense behind him. The former Chaparrals play no small part. Klubnik was the player who had to go on an incredible individual run, including four touchdowns in the ACC Championship Game against No. 10 SMU, to get it done. There’s little question that both remember the last time.
By the way, forgive Carroll and Westlake fans if they don’t show up to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Both programs are playing for 6A state championships on the exact same day, Carroll in 6A-Division II and Westlake in 6A-Division I. The Dragons’ game against Austin Vandegriff kicks off at the same time as Texas.
Even when the beloved Longhorns play, Texas high school football never sleeps.
MORE: Year-end ranking of the top 150 players in college football
