It was announced that Clemson football would be sending Mitch Hyatt and Clelin Ferrell to the 2018 ACC Kickoff event later this month.
The 2018 Clemson football representatives for the ACC Kickoff Event will be left tackle Mitch Hyatt and defensive end Clelin Ferrell.
The decision came as a bit of a surprise for most Tiger faithful, who thought Dabo Swinney and Co. would send Kelly Bryant as the offensive representative.
While that may make sense, I think people are reading too much into this.
Yesterday when it was announced, we received several messages asking us if that decision meant anything new about the QB situation. The answer is no.
Why Hyatt and Ferrell?
It’s pretty clear why Dabo selected the two players he did. Mitch Hyatt is one of the unquestioned leaders of the offense.
He returned for his senior season and will be able to provide good insight.
Clelin Ferrell gets the nod as the defensive representative. Christian Wilkins isn’t going because he went last season. Swinney typically doesn’t repeat players when going to the event.
Now, as for Kelly Bryant.
Yes, I know that it would make sense that if he was your “unquestioned starter” that he would be going. But the reason Bryant is staying home for this event is quite simple. Why would Swinney want to expose him to that kind of pressure for two days?
I’m not even sure if “pressure” is the right word. Basically, Swinney wants to keep Bryant away from having to answer the Trevor Lawrence/QB Competition question over and over again. Bryant would be cordial with his time and answer the question to the best of his ability each time, but we all know that that would grow both draining and, probably, demoralizing.
It in no way helps your team to send Kelly Bryant and make him have to deal with the media firestorm.
In this circumstance, I think it’s just a clear-cut case of Dabo Swinney trying to protect his player.
Next: Analysis: Best Player at Each Position in 2018
2018 ACC Football Kickoff
The ACC Football Kickoff will take place July 18-19 in Charlotte.
Some notable names outside of Clemson include RB Cam Akers (FSU), QB TayQuan Marshall (GT), QB Ryan Finely (NC State), QB Eric Dungey (Syracuse), Willie Yarbary (VT), and DE Zach Allen (BC) to name a few.