After Clemson’s opening loss to Georgia, there was a sense of impatience and uncertainty for the man behind center.

Time seemed to be running out for junior quarterback Cade Klubnik, who finished his second full offseason as the starter behind plenty of returners yet finished with no touchdowns recorded against the Bulldogs.

Many thought it could be another failed experiment for Clemson, who was not impressed with previous quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and ultimately sent him away to Oregon State.

The next game was perhaps the biggest prove-it game in the Texas native’s career. The Tigers took on one of the most formidable Group of Five teams — the Appalachian State Mountaineers — and a poor performance may have had audiences smashing the panic button.

“May have” is the operative term — if it wasn’t for the third play from a game on that clear night in Memorial Stadium.

With 12 yards to go on the third down, Klubnik dropped back to zip the ball over the Mountaineer safeties into the hands of freshman Bryant Wesco Jr. There was nothing but green grass ahead of Wesco, and that’s where the quarterback’s story changed.

That was one of five passing touchdowns for Klubnik that night, in addition to two more rushing and a career-high 378 yards. The most interesting part? He only played the first half of the contest.

It takes two games for many to get past the “fluke” stage of a player, and the NC State Wolfpack was next up for the Tigers. The result? A 59-35 rout of the in-conference rival to take back the Textile Bowl. The Clemson signal-caller added four more trips to the end zone, three passing and one 55-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive. The offensive revival was undeniably stimulated by the junior, who again played just one half and only one drive in the third quarter before being pulled for rest.

The explosiveness continued in the Tigers’ most recent game against the Stanford Cardinal. Another opening drive rushing touchdown and four passing touchdowns later, a 40-14 victory over the Cardinal had the Tigers 3-1 on the season and seen in a completely new perspective than the one following the Georgia loss.

“Cade was awesome,” head coach Dabo Swinney said following the game against Stanford. “He had a couple of plays that he’d like to have back, but the kid just continues to just shine, man. He’s making plays, he’s really making a lot of plays with his legs.”

Swinney has been the main defender of Klubnik, being patient with his quarterback through the growing pains.

“He’s just a really, really talented football player that you just, sometimes, you have to be patient with,” Swinney said. “Not everybody is going to show up (with) no assembly required. Sometimes you just have to put it together a little bit, and at the end, it’s the same thing.”

Klubnik doesn’t put the accolades and numbers on himself but rather the entire unit under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.

“It’s not me, it’s all 11 guys working together in sequence,” Klubnik said after the game against Stanford. “When that happens, I think great things.”

The confidence in Klubnik is oozing all over the place. Before the game against Stanford, he was seen wearing a cowboy hat and boots with his suit at Tiger Walk.

“It went great,” Klubnik said, smiling. “I got to bring a little bit of the Texan in me sometimes over here.”

From the newly-added mullet to the Texas roots, “Cowboy Cade” is ready to lead Clemson into the Florida State matchup in Tallahassee, Florida. Perhaps, it took longer than fans wanted it to, but the question that has begun to arise: Was it worth the wait?