Clemson Football: Deshaun Watson endorses Kelly Bryant as the starter

With all the speculation surrounding the Clemson football program’s quarterback competition, former starter Deshaun Watson gives his two cents on the matter.

Currently competing for the starting job is junior Kelly Bryant, redshirt freshman Zerrick Cooper and a pair of true freshman, Hunter Johnson and Chase Brice. There has yet to be any substantial separation at this point in fall camp.

I could see this quarterback battle playing out like the one Clemson had in 2014 between Cole Stoudt and Deshaun Watson. Dabo Swinney gave Stoudt the benefit of the doubt, due to his experience, however, they slowly brought Watson along until it was clear that he was the starter going forward.

Watson shared his opinion on the Tigers’ quarterback competition in a short tweet.

While Watson hasn’t been in camp to watch all of the young quarterback’s compete, his assessment of the battle is valuable. Watson has played with Kelly Bryant, he understands not only how good Bryant can be, but, how good this Clemson team can be with Bryant under center.

There is no questioning Bryant’s talent. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds Bryant is a load to tackle in the open field. His size combined with his speed and elusiveness makes him the ideal zone-read quarterback. Bryant is still a work and progress as a passer, but, the natural tools are there. He has a strong arm and when his foot work is clean he throws a nice ball.

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The Tigers quarterback battle will likely hinge on the progression of the three younger quarterbacks. The biggest hurdle for each of them is grasping Clemson’s complex playbook. If Johnson, Cooper and Brice show that they can handle the job mentally, than Bryant will have some true competition.