By William Qualkinbush.

As much ink has been spilled discussing quarterback question marks in Clemson this offseason, Athens can likely match it. Georgia’s situation is uncertain, and fans and media cannot stop talking about it.

Hutson Mason has a couple of starts under his belt from the end of last season, but now he is the man in charge of the offense at the beginning of the year for the first time. Most still have questions, but Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables has seen enough.

He knows simply stacking the box to take away the running force provided by the Bulldogs’ famed “Gurshall” tandem—tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall—will not be enough to ensure a successful day for his unit stopping its first opponent. As much as people want to minimize the role of the quarterback, Venables has his eye on Mason as a key cog in the opposing gameplan.

“They’re too balanced in what they do, whether Aaron Murray’s gone or not,” Venables said. “Offensively, for many years, they’ve shown tremendous balance and a commitment to both the run and the pass.”

Venables says neither he nor his defense will succumb to the pressure to load up against the running game of the Bulldogs, no matter how logical that may seem to the outside world. The picture he paints is one of a wide-open attack capable of hurting a defense on multiple fronts.

All the while, a smooth and steady Mason will look to steer the ship. Venables says the senior seemed unflappable in starts against Georgia Tech and Nebraska last season—much to his chagrine.

“You wish he freaked out and started to come unglued and made bad decisions and was careless with the football,” Venables said. “You love that guy. He’s well-schooled, well-coached, a good football player, well-skilled, and makes good decisions.

“He’s got patience and poise to go ‘1, 2, 3’ through his progression. He knows where to look you off and those kinds of things. He’s been in that system for a while, and that system has been very, very consistent at producing numbers, wins, successful quarterbacks. They’ve had very, very few in the past 15 years Mark Richt has been there that have not had similar kinds of success.”

Even with a heightened sense of awareness concerning the status of the quarterback, Venables understands the task that awaits his defense. They will be physically confronted, he says, by a team equally capable of winning physically—as they have against similarly physical teams like LSU and South Carolina recently—and winning with speed and finesse.

According to Venables, limiting Mason is crucial, but stopping the run is what will win the game in the end—a coaching proverb as true this week as any other.

“If you don’t take care of that, it’s going to be a nightmare of a game,” Venables said of stopping Georgia’s inside running game. “That physical challenge, whether it’s out of the spread game or the two-back game, is going to be there.”