It’s the biggest question surrounding the 2018 Clemson Tigers: who will win the battle for the starting quarterback position? This tightly contested race between the experienced senior, Kelly Bryant, and the nationally hyped freshman, Trevor Lawrence, is still in full swing less than a week before kick-off.
With the entire nation waiting for a decision, head coach Dabo Swinney has given very little insight to how the two players are stacking up with one another. While he did say, “[Bryant is] still, at this point, No. 1 if we played today,” he was quick to note that, “It’s a very competitive situation.” Swinney knows that the Tigers can win games under Bryant. In 2017, Bryant threw for 2,802 yards, rushed for 665 and compiled 24 total touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 12-2 season and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Bryant managed to do all of this in his first season as the starter. Now that he has a year of experience under his belt, Swinney can expect even bigger numbers from Bryant this season. Although, while Bryant was solid last season, Swinney has made it clear that, “It doesn’t matter what he did last year. You’ve got to earn it and prove it every day.”
While Bryant is a solid starting quarterback for the Tigers, Trevor Lawrence has the potential to be one of the best in college football. In his four high school seasons, Lawrence threw for nearly 14,000 yards and 161 touchdowns. He was the number one overall recruit in the 2017 class and many are already comparing him to Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan. Though the upside is enormous, Lawrence is certainly the riskier of the two quarterbacks simply because he has never played in a meaningful college game. The only appearance Lawrence has made for the Tigers was in the intersquad spring game when he went 11-16 for 122 yards and a touchdown. His performance was certainly more impressive than Bryant in that game, but the sample size is much too small to make any conclusions. While Dabo Swinney knows that the Tigers can be great with Bryant at quarterback, many Clemson fans believe that with Lawrence as QB, the Tigers can be unstoppable.
The decision that Swinney is faced with is very similar to the decision Alabama coach, Nick Saban, made in last year’s national championship game. With his team down in the second half, Saban pulled his veteran starter Jalen Hurts, who had lead the team to two straight National Championship appearances, in favor of freshman Tua Tagovailoa. While the gutsy decision paid off for Saban, Swinney may decide to stick with the more experienced player to lead the Tigers this season.
The biggest question with Bryant’s game is his ability to play when a defense takes away his run game. In last year’s College Football Playoff, Bryant threw for just 124 yards with no touchdowns. Even worse, he threw two interceptions and only managed 19 rushing yards. Bryant is a decent passer, but he is at his best when he has time to throw and extend plays with his feet. Against Alabama, Bryant was under pressure all night and often got burned when he tried to scramble. It became evident very early on that Bryant’s game played right into the strengths of the Alabama defense. While Swinney knows Bryant will be able to carve up mediocre defenses in the regular season, there is uncertainty about his ability to get the job done in January.
Unlike Bryant, Lawrence is a pass-first quarterback that likes to get the ball out of his hands quickly. Lawrence picks apart defenses with his pinpoint accuracy and composure in the pocket. From afar, it seems as though Lawrence’s style of play is much more likely to make an Alabama defense falter. With Clemson’s elite set of receivers, they need a quarterback that will give them a chance to make plays against Alabama. They need the quarterback to make hasty decisions and get the ball out of his hands before the Tide’s stacked defensive line gets through. On paper, Lawrence has the skills for the job, but he has yet to play a down against the Furman Paladins, let alone against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The quarterback race boils down to just one simple question; Can Kelly Bryant win games against the best teams in College Football? If the answer is yes, Bryant will be the guy. If the answer is no, the question becomes, is Trevor Lawrence ready for the college level? If Lawrence continues to impress in practice, Swinney could give the youngster a shot in either a full-time or part-time role. Swinney said in a recent interview, “regardless of how it plays out, I don’t see a situation early where you just play one guy.” He later added that, “if somebody separates, it’s probably gonna be taking place in games.” This indicates that both Bryant and Lawrence will get reps in against Furman and Georgia Southern, but beyond that point there is still uncertainty. Whether Swinney sticks with one guy later in the season or tries to orchestrate a dual-quarterback system, expect the quarterback situation to remain fluid beyond September first.
There are a number of ways that the quarterback race could play out over the next few weeks, but one thing is clear–it is a good problem to have. Both Bryant and Lawrence can lead the Tigers back to the College Football Playoff. With Clemson’s stacked defensive line and numerous offensive weapons, the quarterback doesn’t need to be a Heisman candidate to lead this team to a championship. With that being said, anything short of a championship for the Tigers in 2018 will be a disappointment. With just a few weeks remaining before kickoff, all eyes will be on Bryant and Lawrence as Tiger fans wait for the 2018 campaign to begin.
