Jeff Scott defines Clemson's two-quarterback system

Jeff Scott says both quarterbacks deserve to play

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Sep 03 13:32:03 GMT-04:00 2018

CLEMSON – The Clemson coaching staff hasn’t made it a secret that the Tigers will play two quarterbacks in Saturday’s primetime showdown at Texas A&M. What we don’t know is whether it’s a true two-quarterback system, a platoon system, or merely an opportunity for freshman Trevor Lawrence to get valuable snaps in a game environment.

Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott was asked Monday if there was a way to define Clemson’s dual quarterback approach, and he said the depth chart at quarterback reflects what we see at other positions.

“I think the way to define it would be, that they are a part of the Clemson offense,” Scott said. “I mean Tony (Elliott) and I are co-coordinators, we are part of coordinating a Clemson offense. And all of the wide receivers, go at every position. The offensive line, how many guys do we play? We play eight or nine guys a game. Go to tight end, we play four to five guys a game. Regardless of who we play, we are going to play nine to ten wideouts a game. We're gonna play four running backs a game, and now it just happens that we are going to play at least two quarterbacks a game.”

Bryant started and played the first three series of Saturday’s 48-7 victory over Furman, leading the offense to 10 points before giving way to Lawrence on the game’s fourth drive.

Bryant threw for 127 yards and a touchdown on a 10-of-16 clip while rushing for 44 yards on five carries. Lawrence threw for 137 yards and three touchdowns while completing 9-of-15 throws and rushing for a yard on three attempts.

Scott said for the coaches, the two-quarterback system is a new way of life.

“For us, it’s not a major deal, it’s not something we spend a lot of time talking about,” Scott said. “I think if some people are playing two quarterbacks to try and find out if they have one good enough to win with, that’s a whole different conversation and worry as a coach for our situation.”

Each quarterback can make plays and each brings something that can help the offense.

“You know, you have two guys that are very effective, they are similar in some ways and they are different in some ways of what they can bring to the offense,” Scott said. “We don’t call the game any different with either of those guys in there. My wide receivers, to be honest, we don’t get in the huddle and say, ‘Okay, he’s in so we are going to run this route a little different.’ After the game Saturday I was trying to remember what quarterback was in on some of the different series, and I had to go back and watch the video.”

Scott said the coaches will play the players that deserve to play, and right now both Bryant and Lawrence deserve snaps.

“We take a lot of pride; coach Swinney takes a lot of pride in playing a lot of people,” he said. “We take a lot of pride offensively. Number one, to play a lot of people you have to have recruited well. You don’t just play people to play people; they have to be good enough to win. Number two is, you know you have to have a lot of guys prepared and they have to put in the work. Both of those guys have. We would be thrilled even if we just had one of any of those three. So, it is what it is, let them go play and until anything changes, it’s not a concern for us or anything like that.”