We Survived!!

We survived the worst possible nightmare yesterday and still got the win.  I’ve said before that we have three winning quarterbacks, and that was proven yesterday.  I didn’t say we could win a national championship with any of our three quarterbacks, but we can be a winning  team.  So, now we’re down to two quarterbacks, and for over half of yesterday’s game against Syracuse, we were down to one quarterback.   After a rocky start with the interception, Chase Brice played like a winning quarterback.  He used his arm and his legs to get us in position to win the game.  I expect Trevor Lawrence to be back as the starting quarterback next Saturday against Wake Forest, but if he’s not ready, I have won’t lose any sleep with Brice in that role.   I’ve also said many times in the past that we need to get the ball to #9 more often.  Without Etienne, we surely would not have won that game yesterday.  If there is a better running back in the country this year, I haven’t seen him or heard if him.  I was a little upset with the play-calling in the first half yesterday.  I think our offensive coordinators were too eager to showcase Lawrence’s long ball proficiency when it wasn’t needed.  We were gaining 8 and 9 yards per pop with Etienne carring the ball, but we stalled a couple of drives by having Lawrence throw the ball as far as he could down the sideline and hope that Tee Higgins could go up and get it.  We didn’t need to do that to win the game, as we saw in the second half.

I won’t go into the stats from yesterday’s game, other than to say that we clearly showed that we can run the ball, and that our defense was very dominant in the second half.  Great game by Kendall Joseph, Tre Lamar, and Isaiah Simmons.  And Xavier Thomas is scary good as a freshman.  Old reliable Hunter Renfrow made may have been the catch of the year.

But all the talk is about Kelly Bryant leaving the team.  Did he do the right thing?  Should he come back now?  Would Dabo allow him to come back now?  Everyone has their opinions on these issues, and since this is my blog, I’m naturally going to give you my opinions.  I enjoy having breakfast every Thursday morning with a small group of very prominent Clemson men – former football stars, local politicians, and die-hard Clemson supporters.  I told that group right after the Spring Game this year what I thought would be the best course of action for Kelly and for the team.  At that time, we still had 5-star quarterback Hunter Johnson on the team.  In my opinion, Kelly Bryant should have gone to Coach Swinney and asked to be moved to a Safety position and to redshirt this year.   Perhaps Dabo should have suggested that to him (maybe he did), but I’m sure Dabo would want it to be Kelly’s decision.  Kelly Bryant is not a potential NFL quarterback.  Unfortunately, he must have some people close to him who are advising him that he is.   Clemson once had a quarterback named Charlie Waters – a great athlete, but certainly not an NFL caliber quarterback.  He moved to defensive safety and became a multiple all-pro and one of the greatest ever at that position for the Dallas Cowboys.  Bryant has that kind of ability with his size, speed (he was one of the fastest guys on the team), and athleticism.  With a redshirt year, he could learn the position and play it next year for Clemson, and he would be a certain NFL draftee.  I don’t think he made the decision to leave Clemson solely because he wants to be “the guy” at some school for his final year of college ball.  I believe he thinks (and has been told by some) that he can play quarterback in the NFL.  I don’t begrudge him for doing what he thinks is the right thing for his career, but, sadly, I think he’s wrong.

My main issue is with the way he did it, specifically his comments to the news media about his decision.  He said it “was a slap in the face to him” and that he wasn’t given a “fair shake.”   He knew exactly what the situation was.  Unlike Saban at Alabama, Dabo was very open throughout the process.  He rightly kept Kelly in the starting position until it became apparent that Trevor was out-performing him.  Dabo could have held back on the announcement that Trevor Lawrence would be the starter until after the Syracuse game, at which point Kelly Bryant would not have the option to transfer.  But as Dabo stated to reporters, he doesn’t work that way.  He would not take that option away from a player that he loves and respects.   Does Kelly Bryant consider it a slap in the face of all the other juniors and seniors on the team who are beat out for the starting position by younger players?  Has he ever suggested that they should abandon the team and go elsewhere?  And just what is his intention when he transfers to another school if not to take a starting position away from a veteran player from that team – a “slap in the face?”  Also, Dabo made it very clear that he would still use both quarterbacks.  Bryant would still have ample opportunities to show what he could do and maybe even move back in as the starter.

With Trevor Lawrence’s injury and questionable status, there’s been talk of whether Bryant should come back to the team.  I don’t think he will, because he will know that as soon as Lawrence is recovered, he will move back into the starting role.  I do believe that Dabo would take him back if he asked.  That’s the kind of man Dabo is.  But I, personally, would not take him back.  I think it would just set up more turmoil down the road.  Dabo told the press that he had a very long and emotional talk with Bryant the day before Bryant announced that he was leaving the team.  I would like to believe they talked of all the options before Bryant, to include possibly changing position.  Bryant chose, I believe, the worst of three options.  He could have stayed and continued to compete at quarterback; or he could have opted to change positions, redshirt the rest of this year, and play safety here next year.  Unfortunately for him and for the team, he chose door number three – leave his teammates and a team that is on a legitimately possible championship run to chase an improbable dream.  If Dabo would have any thoughts about reinstating Bryant on the team, I would hope it would be only after a sincere apology offered by Bryant to Dabo and to the team – not so much because of his decision to leave the team, but for the words he spoke to the press about his leaving.

I have no ill will toward Kelly.   I hope he succeeds wherever he ends up.  I just wish he would clarify and apologize for the inappropriate words he spoke to reporters about his leaving.

A favorite tradition: watching the band march to the stadium.