Clemson Football: Dabo Swinney calls Kelly Bryant front-runner in QB race

Clemson football and head coach Dabo Swinney have a decision to make soon with their starting quarterback before they face Kent State on Sep. 2.

Replacing a quarterback like Deshaun Watson would be a nearly impossible task for any coach or any school to pull off in just one year. Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney is tasked with finding that replacement for Watson.

In an interview with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum today, Swinney said that he would give junior quarterback Kelly Bryant the nod to start Week 1 if he had to decide today. For Bryant, that means he’s likely to be named the official Week 1 starting QB for the Tigers soon.

Clemson kicks off their season on Saturday, Sep. 2, at noon EST. They face the Kent State Golden Flashes, from the MAC, in Week 1 at Clemson Memorial Stadium.

The other quarterbacks in the battle are true freshman and five-star commit Hunter Johnson and freshman and four-star commit Zerrick Cooper. While Johnson is the favorite to land the backup job, Swinney still considers Cooper to be a huge part of the competition.

Swinney told Finebaum that Johnson and Cooper have been less consistent than Bryant, but they will continue to evaluate what they see in practice each day. Bryant has attempted 18 passes in his career and completed 13 of them. He’s thrown for 75 yards and one touchdown and added on another 178 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

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According to USA Today, Bryant was listed at the top of the Clemson quarterback depth chart back in May during spring practice. On that depth chart, Johnson and Cooper were listed as co-backups, with neither getting the edge for the job. With Clemson kicking off their season in less than three weeks, a decision for the starting quarterback job will be named soon.