By Heath Bradley.
By Heath Bradley
CLEMSON, SC- With the regular season wrapped up we will take a look at the current depth chart. We will look at who played, who redshirted, who will or will not return, and how the Clemson coaching staff plans to fill the needs with the 2013 recruiting class. For the first installment we will look at the quarterback position.
The Tigers have a special player at the #1 quarterback position. For the second straight season Tajh Boyd was named first-team All-ACC at his position, becoming the first Tiger signal caller to do so since Steve Fuller accomplished the feat in 1977-78. Boyd has been one of the top quarterbacks in the nation in 2012, leading the ACC and ranking 4th in the nation in passing efficiency with a 168.5 mark. Boyd has passed for 3550 yards and 34 touchdowns while also reaching the end zone 9 times on the ground in 2012. Those 43 touchdowns give him a share of the lead in the nation for touchdown responsibility. Tajh will put in his paperwork with the NFL, but is expected to return for his senior season.
Behind Tajh Boyd is Cole Stoudt, Stoudt who struggled at times in the backup role as a true freshman last season looked much more comfortable with the offense in 2012. Thrown directly into the fire on multiple occasions in the season opener versus Auburn, Stoudt held his composure and helped lead the offense on each occasion. With Clemson winning so many games in blowout fashion in 2012, Stoudt was able to play multiple drives, almost entire half’s in a few instances. This will only help him as he enters his junior season in 2013.
Currently at third string quarterback is Morgan Roberts, the redshirt freshman from Charlotte, North Carolina pushed Stoudt in the spring and at the beginning of fall camp, but could not win the job. Roberts saw very few snaps in the regular season but has shown good athletic ability when given snaps. Tony McNeal redshirted the 2012 season following suffering a knee injury during the spring game.
Chad Kelly, a highly touted recruit from New York redshirted in 2012, however he was on the travel roster in case of emergency. He is talented and will definitely push Stoudt for the backup role in 2013. A great athlete with a tremendous arm, a season of traveling and practice under his belt should have Kelly ready to push for snaps early in 2013. It will be very interesting to see how the coaching staff decides to use Kelly in the early season. Known for his dual threat ability, TCI would not be surprised to see a special package added just to get Kelly on the field.
The Tigers are not currently highly involved with any quarterbacks in the class of 2013. The class of 2014 is a different story; Clemson currently holds a commitment from one of the nation’s top signal callers, DeShaun Watson. Watson a five-star prospect from Gainesville, Georgia, is the perfect blend of size and speed with a tremendous arm. Watson loves Chad Morris so his decision in upcoming coaching openings will play a big role in what Watson chooses to do. As of today Watson will be a Tiger, however as we all know in recruiting, things can change from day to day.