Is it such a stretch to think Trent Pearman can be Clemson’s starting quarterback?

As I listened to talk radio in the Upstate this week, following last week’s Orange & White Spring Game, I heard callers, hosts and some of the media guests kind of laugh at the notion of Pearman, a walk-on, being the starting quarterback at Clemson.

I thought to myself, “Why are they laughing?”

I’d be willing to bet you they were laughing in Athens, Ga., a few years ago when a former walk-on by the name of Stetson Bennett was showing out at Georgia’s Spring Game. However, that laughing stopped when he led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships.

That’s right, Stetson Bennett was a walk-on. In fact, when Clemson lost to Georgia to start the 2021 season—the beginning of the Bulldogs’ first national title—Bennett did not play against the Tigers. Former Southern Cal quarterback JT Daniels started against Clemson.

So, it’s not far-fetched to think Pearman could be the next Stetson Bennett. I admit, I did not cover Bennett’s career at Georgia, so I do not know all the ins and outs. However, what I do know is that he was a walk-on and then became the greatest quarterback in the history of the school.

Also, I am not basing this assumption on just the spring game. I have followed Pearman’s career since he was at D.W. Daniel High School just down the road from Clemson.

Pearman was 24-0 as the Lions’ starting quarterback. He threw for 6,555 yards and 80 touchdowns in his high school career, while leading Daniel to back-to-back state championships.

In the process, he became the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in South Carolina at the end of both seasons. Not bad credentials for a walk-on.

Also, Pearman is the son of a coach. His dad is former Clemson tight ends coach Danny Pearman. Former Clemson All-American, and Mackie Award winner, Dwayne Allen, says Coach Pearman was the best coach he ever had in his playing career.

Trent Pearman says, because of his dad, he is a football lifer. He grew up around the game. He has lived the game.

Growing up, when he was not at his own practices, he was at Clemson’s. When he is not watching film, he is watching a football game. He said he watches football pretty much all week during the football season.

And that explains the other news we have heard about Pearman.

Going back to his true freshman season at Clemson, we heard how well Pearman can throw the football. Several people told me he could spin the ball better than anyone on the roster. They also bragged about his accuracy and how smart he is.

Pearman’s downside, as it always has been, is his height and size. Pearman is barely 6-foot tall and weighs 190 pounds.

But hey, you remember that Bennett guy at Georgia? During his playing days in college, he was listed at 5-foot-11 and weighed 190 pounds. Pretty much the same guy.

During fall camp last season, we again heard how well Pearman was playing. Several people, who had the advantage of watching Clemson’s scrimmages, told us Pearman was really balling and that he looked like the best quarterback.

We heard the same things again during this year’s spring practices. So, this notion that people are going crazy over what Pearman did in the spring game, which was impressive by the way, is preposterous.

This isn’t a one-off kind of thing.

I am not saying Pearman should be Clemson’s starting quarterback when they open the season against Georgia on Aug. 31.

What I am saying is Pearman, based on everything I have heard since last summer, throughout the season and then, again, this spring, should be, at the very least, the co-No. 2 when fall camp begins.

Then let’s see what happens from there.

What does it hurt?

Worst-case scenario, he pushes Cade Klubnik for the starting job and makes Klubnik a better quarterback in the future. Competition has a way of doing such things.

So, I ask. Why are we laughing?

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