By Will Vandervort.
Dabo Swinney says he will be glad when quarterback Deshaun Watson is back on the football field, and that could be as soon as Thursday night.
During his Tuesday press conference with the media, Swinney said 19th-ranked Clemson could have its star quarterback back for its 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Wake Forest.
“He will be dressed and ready to go,” Swinney said.
Senior Cole Stoudt is expected to start for a third straight game for the Tigers (6-2, 5-1 ACC), but if the offense is struggling, as it has in the previous three games against Louisville, Boston College and Syracuse, then the fabulous freshman could get on the field.
“It will depend on what’s going on in the game,” Swinney said. “If we had to have him to win the game – that will be the biggest thing.”
Watson, who broke his index finger in his right (throwing) hand in the first quarter of the Louisville game, has been working with the second-team offense mostly since the Tigers began preparing for the Demon Deacons last Thursday.
In practice on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Swinney said Watson looked good and has done a great job doing what they have asked him to do. The Gainesville, Ga., native began throwing the ball last week and his progression has steadily improved.
Last Friday, in Clemson’s official game notes, Watson was listed as out for the Wake Forest game. When the notes were updated on Monday, they had the quarterback upgraded to doubtful. Now there is the possibility he could play.
“He has continued to prepare as if he has playing every week,” Swinney said. “He has been very engaged during the games. I’m pleased with him.”
Swinney has also been pleased with Stoudt during the off week. The injured left shoulder he suffered in the NC State game last month was able to heal some, which led to some noticeable improvement on the practice field.
Stoudt has taken the majority of the first-team reps in practice.
“Cole is feeling a whole lot better, you can just tell,” Swinney said. “He has gotten better each week on the field, but this extra time has been great for him, too. He has practiced really, really well since last Thursday. I have been pleased with him and I’m really looking for him to play his best ballgame on Thursday night.”
The Tigers hope that is the case. With the College Football Rankings now out, Clemson must position itself higher in the rankings to get the best possible bowl it can get. Though the defense has been very impressive in holding the last four opponents to 36 points, the offense has been stale at best without Watson.
The true freshman threw for 1,176 yards and 12 touchdowns in the first six weeks of the season with most of those yards and touchdowns coming in victories over North Carolina and NC State when the offense scored 50 and 41 points respectively and Watson accounted for 10 touchdowns.
Watson also threw a touchdown pass at Georgia in the season opener and threw for three touchdowns against S.C. State before coming off the bench at Florida State and guiding the Tigers’ to a near victory over the top-ranked Seminoles at the time.
Since Watson got hurt in the Louisville game, Clemson’s scoring went from 41 in the NC State game the week before, to 23 against the Cardinals, 17 against Boston College and 16 against Syracuse.
The Tigers were hoping to get Watson back prior to next week’s visit to Georgia Tech, but having him ready to play against Wake Forest is the shot in the arm the offense needed.
Though he knew he was not going to play against BC or Syracuse, Swinney said he was very impressed in the manner in which Watson prepared and how he handled being injured for the first real time in his career.
“Watching how he has continued to prepare, knowing he was not going to play, that’s something I learned. Seeing him during the game, knowing he was not going to play, how he mentally played the play. He was totally engaged in what was going on,” Swinney said. “That is just a level of maturity that you don’t usually see in a freshman.
“How he takes notes in a meeting, those types of things. He is very supportive of his teammates and all of that.”
Now that its known Watson will dress for the Wake Forest game, the question becomes if and when will he play on Thursday night?
“It will probably be the most watched pregame warm up we have ever seen. Don’t miss pre-game,” Swinney said.