Clemson Tigers sticking with Cole Stoudt as starting QB for Florida State game
The Clemson Tigers haven’t gotten off to the best of starts on the offensive side of the ball, and that led to head coach Dabo Swinney taking a look at freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson in Week 2.
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However, despite the former 5-star quarterback having a strong cameo appearance in the Tigers’ 73-7 blowout of South Carolina State, Swinney is going to stick with starter Cole Stoudt.
With Clemson set to take on Florida State in two weeks, Stoudt gives the Tigers the best chance to win according to a report from the Associated Press.
Swinney acknowledged that Stoudt, “hasn’t played perfect, but he’s played well as the starter, very well. And it’s frustrating when people don’t want to recognize that.”
Stoudt, a senior for the Tigers, is 38-of-60 for 466 yards with a touchdown and one interception to his name in two weeks of action. He went 22-of-31 for 302 yards and his lone passing touchdown against South Carolina State.
Despite those good numbers, all anyone could talk about was Watson’s play, as the freshman went 8-of-9 for 154 yards and three touchdowns last Saturday. In the six series’ he’s played this season, Clemson has scored on five of those series’, and has some clamoring for him to get more playing time.
However, Swinney isn’t one of those clamoring for his freshman to get going too quickly. Swinney does acknowledge the special talent that Watson has at his disposal.
“We know that we have a very special talent in Deshaun Watson,” Swinney said. “It’s not some big, shocking thing to us. We know that. And he has to play well with his opportunities.”
It’s one thing to put up dazzling numbers against South Carolina State, and another to have the experience and poise to play against reigning national champion Florida State.
Having Stoudt under center gives the Tigers the best chance to be calm in the face of the hype and adversity this game is likely to produce. It is nice to know that should things go wrong, there’s always a special talent waiting in the wings to help out though.