By Will Vandervort.

The similarities between Cole Stoudt and his father Cliff don’t end with the two waiting behind two legends before they got their turn to be starters.

Cliff waited behind Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw for six years and Cole behind Clemson record setting-quarterback Tajh Boyd for three years.

Like his dad, Cole will get his first start as the Tigers’ starting quarterback without the same offensive weapons the guy before him had. When Cliff became the starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1983, it happened to be the year wide receiver Lynn Swan retired, running back Franco Harris was shipped off to Seattle to finish his career and wide receiver John Stallworth only played in two games after breaking his leg in the season-opener. All three are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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“We lost a lot of the great players from the ‘70s to retirement. We were kind of in a rebuilding phase,” Cliff said.

This year, Cole will open the 2014 season at Georgia without the services of wide receiver Sammy Watkins—the most dynamic player in college football the last three years—wide receiver Martavis Bryant and running back Roderick McDowell. Those three contributed to 50.2 percent of the team’s total offense in 2013 and 34.8 percent of the total touchdowns scored.

Clemson also has to replace multi-year starters in left tackle Brandon Thomas and right guard Tyler Shatley on offense. But even with those losses, Cliff says his son’s situation is in a whole lot better shape than what he and the guys in Pittsburgh had to deal with in 1983.

“I don’t think Clemson is in a rebuilding phase. They have to replace some players, but there are a lot of good players that have been waiting in the wings or some freshmen that will come in and will get their opportunities,” Cliff said. “I think there are a lot of weapons. The cookie jar is not empty.

“You have Charone Peake coming back, Mike Williams, Adam Humphries – you have four tight ends that can play and have been around. We may not have that superstar running back, but we have four or five guys you can plug in during any situation and they are going to get the job done. I think there are a lot of weapons.”

Cliff went on to stay the biggest asset is offensive coordinator Chad Morris.

“Everywhere he has been, his offense moves the ball and they score points,” the former NFL quarterback said. “He is not in a rebuilding situation like the Steelers were in back then. I think (Cole) feels very comfortable with who he has got.

“He did an interview with someone the other day and they asked him who was his go-to receiver, and Cole said, ‘All of them.’ We have a lot of weapons and we can move the ball around. We don’t have to depend on just one or two guys. It is going to be a little bit different look so it is going to be the same, but different. I think that is the way he is looking at it.”