Clemson Tigers: Hunter Johnson making late spring push.
The Clemson Tigers recently held their second scrimmage of the spring; following practice, Dabo Swinney had great things to say about early enrollee Hunter Johnson.
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Playing quarterback in Clemson’s uptempo system is no walk in the park for any player, especially a true freshman. It can be difficult to completely digest the Tigers complex play book in the short amount of spring practice sessions. As such, Hunter Johnson got off to an understandably slow start this spring.
Johnson has seemed to turn the corner as of late.
Anna Hickey of 247sports reported that yesterday’s scrimmage was completely live including quarterbacks. During that scrimmage, Hunter Johnson went 5-11 for 110 yards and one touchdown.
In an interview with Nikki Hood of Tigernet following the scrimmage, Dabo Swinney said the following of Hunter Johnson:
"He threw some really nice balls. He took advantage of his opportunities and made some really nice runs, extended some plays with his legs, but put the ball where it needed to be. He had the best day today."
This news couldn’t come at any better time as there has been little separation between the quarterbacks up until this point. With the spring game a little over a week away, Johnson is positioning himself to gain significant ground in the quarterback battle should he play well.
See also: Scouting report on freshman QB Hunter Johnson
Kelly Bryant and company should be worried, the only thing holding Johnson back thus far was his understanding of the offense. From an arm talent standpoint, Johnson was the best quarterback on the roster from the moment he stepped on campus. Now that he is comfortable with the playbook, he has a chance to separate from the pack.
Next: 3 Things We Need to See From Clemson in the Spring Game