By Will Vandervort.

His career did not go exactly as planned. When he got to Clemson in 2011, Cole Stoudt had to come to the realization early on he was not going to beat out Tajh Boyd as the starting quarterback.

Boyd had a cannon for an arm, was accurate in his delivery, and because of his size, he was the perfect quarterback for what Chad Morris wanted to do in the running game.

It also did not help that Boyd got the Tigers off to an 8-0 start as the starting quarterback in 2011 and later on won Most Valuable Player honors in the ACC Championship Game as Clemson won its first ACC title in 20 years.

At that point, Stoudt knew his only opportunity to start at Clemson would come as a senior. After beating out Chad Kelly in the spring, Stoudt finally got his shot. But after a great first half against Georgia in the season opener, it all came to a crashing halt.

Stoudt and the Clemson offense struggled in the second half against the Bulldogs and by Week 4 of the season, freshman sensation Deshaun Watson had won over the job and was breaking one Clemson record after another.

Just like three years earlier, Stoudt was relocated to the bench – his career as the Tigers starting quarterback was short lived or so he thought. Against Louisville, Watson broke his finger and missed the next three games.

Despite his struggles, Stoudt found a way to help the Tigers knock off Louisville and then directed three—thought not pretty ones—victories at Boston College, vs. Syracuse and at Wake Forest—it was a very important stretch to the season, one that helped Clemson ultimately land in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

But as we all know, Stoudt again had to hand over the offense to Watson and again he thought his senior year was over. But again, he was wrong. Watson went down with a knee injury late in the first quarter against Georgia Tech and was done for the next week’s game.

But unlike the Louisville game where he found a way to help his team win, Stoudt led to the Tigers’ demise in Atlanta. He threw three interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns in a 28-6 loss. The boo-birds came out on the message boards and on talk radio, they all wanted to stone the Clemson quarterback, sort of speak.

Following the Georgia State game, once again Watson was named the starter as he led the Tigers to a 35-17 win over archrival South Carolina. It was revealed after the game that Watson played with a torn ACL in his knee and a week later Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced Watson was going to have surgery and was not going to play in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Oklahoma.

Once again, Stoudt was named the starter.

What happened in the Russell Athletic Bowl was something no one expected. Stoudt completed 26 of 36 passes for a career-high 319 yards and three touchdowns, while running for another in the Tigers’ 40-6 victory.

For his performance, Stoudt was named the game’s MVP.

“He played his best game of his career in his last game,” Swinney said. “We knew that our only chance to win this game, he was going to have to play his tail off and he was going to have to make plays outside. It was a very tough defense to run against. Cole Stoudt was awesome. He made plays with his legs. He made great decisions, taking care of the football, made good checks, checked us into some plays, checked the touchdown.

“Cole Stoudt was awesome and nobody deserves it more.”

Stoudt finished his career with a 6-2 record as a starter and though that is what he will ultimately be remembered for, his struggle to get there should be a footnote so what he accomplished in the Russell Athletic Bowl can be appreciated even more.

“He hung in there. He showed class, representing us the right way, even when things didn’t go his way and all that kind of stuff,” Swinney said. “He continued to believe in himself and I just couldn’t be more proud of him.”

But Swinney can’t be prouder than Stoudt was. He overcame it all to have one of the best games in Clemson history. His senior campaign may not have gone according to plan, but he felt good that he stuck around and finished the job when no one else probably would have.

“I wouldn’t say it would be redemption. I just knew that this was my last game here and knew that I prepared to do my best. I just wanted to do it for the guys around me,” he said. “That’s all that really mattered, was the people I played with all these years. I knew that in my mind I wanted to be the best that I could be for this team – just go out there and have some fun and just enjoy the last game with everyone, and that’s what we did.

“We had our best bowl practice that I’ve been around. And it was just a ton of fun. We all had a blast.”