Dabo Swinney doubled down Sunday night on what Clemson fans saw with their own eyes Saturday: Chris Denson is different.
“I mean, we call some quarterback draws, and, I mean, he's just an electric guy with the ball in his hands,” Swinney said. “He's a natural runner. He's very gifted. He's elusive and explosive, and has great vision, you know, with the ball in his hands.”
Clemson didn’t ask him to run the full playbook. They didn’t need to.
“Obviously a situation where we were able to, you know, just like I said, call a few run plays with him, and a few quarterback draws and he found some lanes and did the rest,” Swinney said. “Didn't ask him to do much outside of that. And he did it, you know, threw a couple screens at the RPO there to Logan, which was a good job.”
But the bigger takeaway for Swinney was what the performance represents — not what it was.
“He's a smart kid. He's very conscientious, and he's just got to develop,” Swinney said. “I mean, he's just in that process. He's got to develop as a quarterback in totality, and so big spring ahead.”
Swinney was clear: Clemson recruited Denson for exactly what fans saw live.
“What y’all saw yesterday, live, is why we recruited him,” Swinney said. “Because that's what we saw. Like this is a dynamic player that, if he can develop, he could be a great quarterback. So that's what we're in process of doing. Since he got here he's made good progress. Knew for sure he was going to redshirt. So good to be able to get him some confidence and some experience yesterday.”
Where Denson Must Grow Next
When asked what comes next for the freshman, Swinney didn’t hesitate.
“Between now and the summer? The totality of the passing game,” he said. “I mean, that's the main thing. He's just still a maturing passer.”
That development has already begun.
“That's really the biggest, and he's made huge strides since when we first got him here,” Swinney said. “Just the totality of playing quarterback. Obviously he's gifted, can do all the things as a runner, but he's got to be… he's got to be an elite passer too.”
That was always part of the plan.
“That's part of why we signed him, because we felt like he could be. But we also knew that he was very raw, and it was going to take a lot of development,” Swinney said.
The unknown, Swinney admitted, was how Denson would handle the mental side of the position.
“What you don't know when you're recruiting a guy is: who are they mentally? How are they going to take the things from a mental standpoint?” he said. “And the good news is he's just a natural. I mean, he really understands the game. He's smart, he's savvy, he's got good instincts.”
Denson’s background — a run-heavy system — means his growth as a passer is simply part of the climb.
“He just, you know, is coming from a background where he ran around a lot and wasn’t really asked to do a whole lot,” Swinney said. “Didn't have a lot of time to do a whole lot from a protection standpoint.”
Swinney ended the segment with a clear message: Clemson is excited — and Saturday was just the beginning.
“So we're excited.”