Riley Dodge says he’s watched former pupil Quinn Ewers transform from a boy into a man over the last 18 months as the quarterback at Texas. Todd Dodge found out how much of a man Cade Klubnik was when he served up the ninth grader to the Westlake varsity defense during a three-man quarterback battle that Klubnik eventually won. 

Ewers and Klubnik met as five-star, can’t-miss products as juniors in the 2020 Class 6A Division II state championship game with Todd coaching Klubnik at Westlake and Riley, Todd’s son, leading Ewers and Southlake Carroll. It was Klubnik’s Chaparrals that emerged victorious, thanks in part to two Ewers interceptions that landed in the waiting arms of Michael Taaffe, now his teammate on the Forty Acres. 

The two meet again Saturday afternoon at DKR in Austin when Klubnik returns home with the Clemson Tigers to face Ewers’ Longhorns in the first round of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. The Dodges never doubted for a moment that their former protegees would meet again in a high stakes football game. Even if everyone else did after inconsistent starts to their collegiate careers. 

“I’d be more shocked if they weren’t in these types of games in their college career,” Riley said. “Both battled through adversity and doubters. They both went to work and handled their day-to-day and came out better for it. Playing in big programs under a spotlight set them up for success.” 

Both Ewers and Klubnik were supposed to be here, on this stage, leading national championship contending programs. They were both five-star prospects with dozens of offers, originally in the same 2022 class until Ewers reclassified to start a year early at Ohio State. 

They were Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, but in the same state. Everyone was convinced they’d trade Friday Night Lights for NFL Sunday three years after enrolling in college as future 1st round picks and franchise players. Stars. In a state that produces a ton of those, especially at quarterback. 

Todd first heard of Klubnik from his wife Elizabeth, who was an elementary school teacher in Eanes ISD where Westlake is in Austin, TX. Her dad, Ebbie, was a longtime athletic director and coach at the high school. She knew talent, and she saw potential in a group of fifth graders led by the competitive Klubnik. 

She told her husband, who was planning on retiring in four or five years, that he might want to push that to seven or eight so he didn’t miss his chance at a few more state titles. Elizabeth was right. Todd inserted Cade into the starting quarterback competition in the spring of his 9th grade season, letting a star-studded veteran defense blast the young protégé without the benefit of a red jersey. 

“That’s how we introduce all of our young quarterbacks to varsity football,” Dodge said of not using red or yellow jerseys for quarterbacks who haven’t earned the starting job. “Cade got his little ass knocked off for a few weeks. When he never backed down, I knew we had something.”

Riley also knew he had something in the young Ewers. The young coach was an offensive coordinator at nearby Justin Northwest High School in the DFW when his buddy and then OC at North Texas, Graham Harrell, stopped by Riley’s office to tell him that he’d done something new in his coaching career – offer a quarterback in middle school. That quarterback was Ewers. Riley was named head coach at Southlake Carroll the next year. 

“Quinn was so physically and mentally tough, even back then,” Riley said of his former pupil. “He’s probably the most comfortable in his skin of any quarterback I’ve ever worked around.” 

Todd and Riley knew their respective teams were on a collision course at the end of the year, even if they were relieved to skip a scheduled clash at AT&T Stadium in Week 1 of the 2020 season to commemorate the UIL’s 100-year anniversary. Without COVID-19, the Saturday meeting would be a trilogy, not a sequel. 

Ewers was 23-of-39 for 351 yards and three touchdowns in a losing effort while battling a hernia. Klubnik completed 18-of-20 passes and ran for 97 yards in a three-touchdown performance. But it was the Westlake defense, specifically Taaffe, that won the game in a contest that didn’t live up to the hype in a season marred by COVID-19. 

But the climb back to this rematch wasn’t smooth for either signal-caller. 

Ewers began his career at Ohio State, in part for a large amount of NIL money, before transferring back to Texas – his dream school he decommitted from as a junior. His mullet received more compliments than his play as he battled through more injuries and tried to become a leader. He still has an army of detractors, even within the Texas fan base, despite leading the Horns to their first conference title since 2009 and into the CFP for the second straight year. 

Klubnik started one game in 2022 and was inconsistent in 2023 under new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. The Tigers lacked explosive plays and the passing game success Clemson fans grew to consider the norm after Lawrence, Deshaun Watson, and Tahj Boyd in recent memory. Head coach Dabo Swinney received criticism for his reluctance to adjust to NIL and the portal following a .500 season in ACC play. A blowout loss to Georgia in Week 1 felt like the beginning of the end. 

The Dodges are proud of their protegees, even if they don’t plan to be in attendance when Ewers and Klubnik meet for a second time. Riley plans to coach his Southlake Carroll squad in a state championship game while Todd, who is back in coaching after a few years playing golf with the rest of the legendary coaches in the area at Horseshoe Bay, is cheering on. 

You’d think Todd would be rooting for Clemson and Klubnik while Riley was cheering on Ewers and the Longhorns. But that’s not completely right. Todd was a Longhorn legend in his day as a star quarterback on the Forty Acres. One that wasn’t without doubters, just like Ewers. 

“My color orange won’t change, I can tell you that,” he said with a laugh. “To use a baseball analogy, I hope Cade goes 4-for-4 at the plate and the guy behind him hits into a double-play each time.”