The last time we talked about Clemson Kelly Byrant we compared him to Alabama’s Jalen Hurts and made this statement.
Coming off a Sugar Bowl performance where Bryant was overwhelmed and tentative, he honestly played poorly in Clemson’s spring game. He was inaccurate in the passing game and the offense stalled while he was out there.
The more I look back at this game, and I re-watched it again – the more while still believing the above statement was true – there was a lot of blame to go around in that game. We even noted it on the blog back in January.
From the gameplan that started too conservative and was a mess throughout, to the offensive line that got manhandled, to miscues by the wideouts, and Kelly Bryant as rattled as he’s been all year at QB, the Clemson offense never had a chance.
As the off-season wore on, a lot of people tended to forget that. Bryant did not play well, but find a player or coach associated with Clemson’s offense that shouldn’t take some responsibility for that performance. As the the hype around the QB battle with Trevor Lawrence increased, it started to be a forgone conclusion that Bryant wouldn’t be able to hold him off.
Let’s talk about the some positives of Kelly Bryant. He beat Auburn, won at Virginia Tech, won at NC State, won at South Carolina, beat Miami in the ACCCG. Everyone of those teams won at least 9 games. Virginia Tech, NC State, and South Carolina are certainly hostile environments to play in. Kelly Bryant guided Clemson to wins in all. He completed over 65% of his passes and threw just 8 interceptions all year. He accounted for 25 TD’s rushing and throwing. By any account he had a very good first year starting at QB for Clemson.
Bryant’s biggest mistake? He followed a legend at Clemson – Deshaun Watson. That’s unthinkable pressure, and Bryant answered the call. The year after Cam Newton left Auburn, they went 8-5. They year after Tim Tebow left Florida, they went 8-5 and Urban Meyer quit football for a year. Texas lost 3 games and finished outside the top 10, the year after Vince Young left. Get the picture? These are the type legendary QB’s Deshaun Watson was in the category of.
Kelly Bryant got Clemson back into the playoffs, and won a conference title.
From a Clemson Insider report on the QB battle.
Quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter says Bryant has earned everything he done to this point, and he does not expect that to change at all this year.
“Kelly is the guy right now. Make no mistake about it. He has earned it,” Streeter said. “He is the guy that is going to go out their first especially in the beginning of preseason camp.
If Trevor Lawrence beats out Kelly Bryant so be it, but Bryant performed awfully well last year in games he was healthy in – minus the Alabama one. Lawrence is going to have to really earn it to win the QB job. Don’t write off Kelly Bryant just yet.
