Clemson Football must a take page out of Alabama’s book in 2017
The Clemson football program should take a page out of Alabama’s book in their handling of starting quarterback, Kelly Bryant.
Following practice Monday afternoon, Clemson football head coach, Dabo Swinney announced the depth chart at quarterback ahead of the Tigers’ season opener. Junior, Kelly Bryant, is No. 1 followed by Zerrick Cooper at No. 2 and Hunter Johnson is No. 3.
Under Dabo Swinney, Clemson’s offense has become renowned for their ability to throw the ball all over the yard. While this system has worked for them in the past, I do not believe that it will work for them in 2017. Bryant, while he has reportedly shown improvement, is largely unproven. Asking him to play within the system, rather then, fitting the system to his strengths would set Bryant up for failure.
It would be unfair to ask Bryant to run the offense the way that Deshaun Watson did, as they have completely different skill sets.
Alabama blueprint
Nick Saban and Alabama have done this well over the past three seasons. Aside from this fall, the Tide have entered the past three seasons with a new starter at quarterback. In 2014 it was Blake Sims, in 2015 it was Jacob Coker and in 2016 it was Jalen Hurts.
Sims, Coker and Hurts were all different from each other and then offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin understood that. With Sims and Hurts, Kiffin incorporated more zone-read and run pass options (RPOs). Neither Sims or Hurts had great down the field accuracy, so majority of the throws they were asked to make were short to intermediate routes.
In Coker, Kiffin had a more pocket passing style of quarterback. With his big frame, Coker was comfortable standing in the pocket and surveying the field. Kiffin all but removed the quarterback runs from the offense and instead fed the ball to Heisman winning running back, Derrick Henry. The Tide relied on play action and took more shots down the field with Coker under center.
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Through tailoring the offense around the strengths of their quarterback, Alabama reached consecutive National Championship games in 2015 & 2016.
Clemson can do much of the same in their transition from Watson to Bryant. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Bryant has a chiseled frame capable of running around and through defenders. Co-offensive coordinators, Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott can rely more on Bryant as a runner due to his bigger frame. The Tigers also have a much more deep stable of running backs. As such more emphasis can be placed on running the football.
2017
I’m not suggesting that Clemson get away from throwing the football completely, rather, run to set up the pass. Kelly Bryant is an inconsistent passer, however, he can be effective when he is throwing with confidence.
Giving Bryant touches on the ground, will not only get him into the flow of the game, but, it will also open up play action down the field. If defenses are forced to load up the box to stop the run, Bryant will have one-on-one matchups at his dispense. With Clemson’s talent at wide receiver that is like stealing.
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Yes, Bryant is different from the other starting quarterbacks under Dabo Swinney, but, he is talented in his own right. The key is to highlight his strengths and mask his weaknesses. The Tigers have the talent around him to continue their streak of 10+ win seasons in 2017.