Dabo Swinney isn’t hiding it: if Clemson takes care of business against Furman on Saturday, he wants to see the future.
Specifically, he wants to see true freshman quarterback Chris Denson jog out onto the Memorial Stadium turf and finally get more than a single snap.
“I’d love to see Chris get to play some,” Swinney said on his weekly radio show Monday night. “That’d be awesome.”
From Florida Star to Clemson’s Next Dual-Threat Hope
Denson arrived at Clemson in January as an early enrollee with big numbers and bigger potential.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder from Plant City, Fla., was ranked among the nation’s top 25 dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2025 class by both Rivals and ESPN. He has just one college snap so far — a 2-yard keeper against SMU on Oct. 18 — but his high school tape backs up the hype.
In two years as a starter, Denson completed 63.6% of his passes for 4,813 yards and 55 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions. On the ground, he added 1,940 rushing yards on 207 carries with 16 rushing touchdowns and eight 100-yard games.
His senior season was a full-on dual-threat showcase: 2,334 passing yards with 28 touchdown throws against only three picks, plus 1,159 rushing yards and 12 more scores on 113 carries.
“He’s a guy that there’s just still some unknown with him,” Swinney said. “He’s an elite athlete – I mean, elite, elite, elite. Can really, really run. You’ve got guys that can run, and then you’ve got guys like Denson.”
Elite Athlete, Quarterback Still in Progress
For all the explosiveness, Swinney is clear that Denson is still in the developmental phase as a college quarterback.
“He is unbelievably explosive,” Swinney said. “He’s still developing as a quarterback. There’s still some growth there that’s got to happen. But we’re seeing lots of improvement in practice – physically, and just developmentally, as far as throwing the ball.”
That’s where the daily work comes in. Clemson has focused on tightening his mechanics, footwork and consistency as a passer, trying to match his arm with the dynamic run threat he already brings.
The Tigers don’t yet know exactly what he’ll look like in extended game action. Saturday — if the script goes according to plan — could be the first real measuring stick.
Tajh Boyd’s ‘Personal Project’
Swinney made a point to single out assistant quarterbacks coach Tajh Boyd for the hands-on work he’s done with Denson behind the scenes.
“Tajh has done a great job with him. He’s kind of been Tajh’s personal project,” Swinney said. “Because he just really had a lot of development to do, as a thrower, all the things and just his mechanics and a lot of stuff.”
That work, Swinney said, is starting to show.
“He’s made a ton of improvement, and so it would be great if we could get him in the game and just see some live work from him and see where he’s at.”
For Clemson, the hope is that Saturday can connect the dots between what the staff is seeing in practice and how Denson responds under the lights.
Making the Freshman ‘Live’ in Practice
Game reps have been scarce — one snap against SMU — but Denson hasn’t exactly been wrapped in bubble wrap.
Swinney said the staff has made a point to “make him live” in practice scrimmages over the past month-plus, letting defenders tackle him instead of whistling plays dead.
“His strength is being live,” Swinney said. “Usually when we scrimmage with him, we make him live, because I hate to take a big part of his game away, and it’s also good for the defense.”
Clemson has scrimmaged him heavily over the last five weeks, particularly in Tuesday sessions designed to keep younger or lesser-used players sharp.
“We’ve done a lot of scrimmage work on Tuesdays,” Swinney added. “Guys that aren’t playing a ton on Saturdays, we’re making sure they’re playing at least once a week, just like our team – just some live football.”
Furman as a Measuring Stick
Furman (4:30 p.m., The CW) represents more than just another nonconference opportunity. For Swinney, it’s a chance to see how far Denson has come — and how far he still has to go.
“I’ve seen some real growth in him,” Swinney said. “So, I would love to be able to, if it worked out, to where he could have an opportunity to play some. That would be great.”
The goal isn’t to crown him. It’s to gather information.
“I just think it gives you one more measuring stick on where he is and where we’ve got to get him to,” Swinney said.
If Clemson handles its business early, the Tigers might get that look at their true freshman dual-threat — and fans might get their first real glimpse of the quarterback Swinney can’t stop calling “elite.”