The old adage is you can’t lose your job to an injury but Clemson may find it difficult to abide by that old saying.
Before Trevor Lawrence even arrived on campus, there were calls for him to be the Clemson starting quarterback. The hype train surrounding last year’s top recruit has only reached new speeds after his showing in the spring and the first two games of the young season.
The 6-foot-6 quarterback with flowing blonde locks has been on the field for 18 drives through three games and has led the team to eight touchdowns, two field goals and only two turnovers. By comparison, Bryant, who started for the ACC champions last year, has been on the field for 13 drives, six of which ended in a touchdown, one in a field goal and two resulting in a turnover.
The sample size may be small but Lawrence has outplayed Bryant this year and the calls for Dabo Swinney to unleash his freshman phenom will only grow louder after Bryant left Saturday’s win vs. Georgia Southern with a bruised chest.
Details on Bryant’s injury were limited with Swinney only saying during his halftime interview on ESPNU that Bryany was breathing heavily. He didn’t play in the second half and his status for Saturday’s ACC opener vs. Georgia Tech is unknown.
The old saying is you can’t lose your job to injury, but I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen to Bryant.
I think it’s in Clemson’s best interest to hand the keys to the offense to Lawrence who has gained valuable reps against two FCS opponents and saw what challenges a hostile environment presents during the narrow Week 2 win at Texas A&M.
This was the plan all along for Swinney who didn’t want to force the issue with Lawrence because he knew he could trust Bryant do get the job done. Now that Bryant is battling an injury, Swinney should not rush him back and instead name Lawrence the starter against an ACC team that shouldn’t present much of a challenge.
He just might prove to Swinney, his teammates and Clemson fans everywhere that he should remain in the starting lineup so long as he’s on campus.
It’s really an unfortunate situation for Bryant, but sports aren’t fair, and Clemson has an obligation to play the best players. After three weeks, there’s no question that Lawrence is the better player.