Dabo Swinney likes to say he will always play the best players, and that includes the possibility of having to play two quarterbacks this coming fall.
The Clemson head coach said earlier this week he is not against the idea of a two-quarterback system.
“If I have a junior version of Deshaun Watson and a sophomore version of Deshaun Watson, I’ll play them both,” he said. “I mean Coach (Bear) Bryant used to do that all the time. He would take Joe Namath out and would throw Kenny Stabler in there.”
The reigning national champions have a few more weeks before they begin spring drills, but when they do start up, finding a replacement for Deshaun Watson at quarterback will be at the top of the list. Junior Kelly Bryant will get the first opportunity to take first-team snaps this spring, while redshirt freshman Zerrick Cooper is expected to challenge him for the job, along with true freshman Hunter Johnson, who got on campus last month.
“I do not have a problem with (using two quarterbacks). I have never had a problem with that,” Swinney said. “Ideally, you would like to have that clear cut guy, but sometimes you have very talented players.”
Swinney says having two quarterbacks that are of the same skillset and talent is no different than having other position players coming in and out.
“Like at defensive end, you take Vic Beasley out and put in Shaq Lawson. No one was complaining,” Swinney said. “I don’t know why it is any different. It really is not. It’s just running plays. If it is truly equal, and it can certainly be that way.”
Swinney admits you don’t see two-quarterback systems that often because generally one person separates himself from everyone else. However, there are times it has happened and in some of those examples it worked out for everyone.
“That is why Coach Bryant never had a Heisman at Alabama. He just rolled,” Swinney said. “Joe Namath would go play about three series and then he would sit on the bench because Kenny is going to go out there and play or whoever he was throwing in there.
“There is nothing wrong with having a bunch of great players. If we have two guys that can win at a high level, then I have no problem at all with it. As long as they are leaders and have all the intangibles that you need. It is not a problem to me. I just want to win.”
The challenging part about settling on a quarterback, especially when they lack experience, which is the case for the Tigers this spring, the coaches can only evaluate so much from practices and scrimmages.
“Usually there is always some separation at some point, but sometimes in college football, which is what happened with us with Deshaun you can only go so far in practice,” Swinney said. “We don’t get preseason games. We don’t get it. So you have to go play a couple of games and kind of watch it play out on the field, then you can have it. We will have to wait and see.”
We are now taking orders for our limited edition magazine Mission Accomplished. Remember Clemson’s championship season with this great magazine from the staff that covers Clemson football 365 days a year. Order yours today to make sure you get a copy!
