Clemson QB Kelly Bryant to transfer
Following up the trend from Monday of true seniors redshirting after 4 games and transferring, Clemson QB Kelly Bryant just announced he's redshirting and transferring out of the program.
Bryant started the first 4 games this year but split time with true freshman Trevor Lawrence each game. Lawrence outplayed Bryant statistically and was announced to be the started for the upcoming game earlier this week. This is a big blow to Clemson as Bryant probably would have played moving forward in the same split-time system and now Clemson only has one other scholarship QB on roster.
Bryant will probably be the hottest transfer commodity out there. He started for Clemson all last year as they made the playoffs and he will be immediately eligible next year.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
Agreed. Bryant would thrive in the Auburn offense. A perfect fit. Malzahn's schemes work even better with a serious running threat at QB.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^
Funny, because during the game Saturday the announcers were talking up the use of the two QB system.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:28 AM ^
Is this spate of transfers an unintended consequence of the new rule about maintaining the ability to redshirt if playing in four or fewer games or was there another rule change allowing this? If it is the former, something tells me that rule is going to be removed or at least tweaked in the offseason. I hope they keep it mostly intact as it seems like a great way to get young guys experience while doing away with the "injury" redshirt shenanigans.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
Its what happens when 5 star QBs all go to the same schools. Remember when Texas A&M had like 3 5 stars QBs?
September 26th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
It is probably a product of a "transition period" with this rule.
Somehow Bryant didn't get his redshirt behind DeShaun Watson. Had this rule existed back then, he'd probably be a redshirt junior that sees the writing on the wall with a two-QB system and young rising star, and he'd be looking to grad transfer after this year(assuming Clemson didn't have more than four blowouts one of those years for him to get PT in). The new rule gives him an opportunity to get a redshirt as a senior that he wouldn't have had in previous years.
The takeaway is that you'll see redshirts for underclassmen become more common across college football as a whole, so there won't be as many "I'm sitting out the rest of the season to preserve my redshirt" situations.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
Bryant is one of those guys who took one visit and committed.
His offer list is not exactly amazing. Clemson, App St, Duke, Florida, Ga Tech, Ole Miss, No. Carolina, No. Carolina State, Troy, Virginia, Virgina Tech.
Auburn, Louisville, Ohio State, Stanford all had interest but never offered.
September 26th, 2018 at 8:30 PM ^
His offer list is not exactly amazing...
Oh, thought you meant Brandon Peters.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:35 AM ^
Pitiful.
No Loyalty anymore. No integrity (osu,psu,msu), Less character.
Bo turning over in his grave. Still Proud of M, as we do have loyalty, integrity and character.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:37 AM ^
Why should players show loyalty to a program when coaches don't?
September 26th, 2018 at 8:20 PM ^
Loyalty to a player? Coaches are loyal to winning. Winning isn't important to you.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^
Your comment is so strange that I can't even tell if you're referring to Dabo or Bryant.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:40 AM ^
Bo ain't playing the freshman.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
Back then when you had 125 scholarships or whatever it was, you had plenty of depth and you didn't have freshman good enough to play.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
You have obviously never coached anything and must be ok with mediocrity.... The coaches job is to play the BEST player. Dabo did the right thing here by naming the best player the starter and explaining how he would understand it if Bryant made a decision that was best for his own career.
Why string him along or be “loyal” and play the second best player? How would the rest of the team feel about this? If anything, I am sure Dabo has 100% of the roster believing he will do what is best for the team.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
Oops, that was meant to be a reply you catchafire.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:50 AM ^
I think the issue is that if you are Clemson, you have 2 choices:
1) Kelly as the starter and talented True Freshman as backup; or
2) Talented true freshman as starter, nobody at backup.
The problem with choice #2 is you end up like Nebraska (lost season) with 1 injury and if Kelly got to the playoffs last year, is the true freshman really that much better? Shouldn't Kelly know the players and playbook more?
September 26th, 2018 at 6:44 PM ^
Yes, the true freshman IS that much better. You're judging this situation by Michigan standards, where younger and more talented players are never allowed to beat out more experienced established starters.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^
No it's not.
It's to play the player which gives the team the "best chance to win".
And "Weak Thor" will see things he's never seen before in the next few weeks.
Maybe they adjust on the fly, maybe it takes a week too long. ACC may be struggling but they all would love to upset'm. That's not even considering the CFP experience Bryant has.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^
Nothing wrong with adding another top-tier transfer QB to the roster.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
Very interesting to note that two QBs who started for playoff teams last year (Bryant and Hurts) are both almost certainly going to be transfers after this season.
No way in hell Hurts is ever getting the starting job back at Alabama, but he led them to two national title appearances. There will be a lot of teams who would love to have his services.
September 26th, 2018 at 4:56 PM ^
I agree, though neither Hurts nor Bryant were necessarily driving the part of their teams that got them to the playoffs. Both are run-first QBs who can minimize turnovers, but Alabama and Clemson have consistently had two of the top 5 defenses in the country, and that's probably a bigger reason those squads made it to the title game than what either of these guys did. So I do wonder if they'll find the transfer scene a bit more restricted than, say, a Patterson.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
Is it productive to talk about things like "loyalty" in these conversations? As none of us are in the Clemson locker room, we're left with nothing but assumptions and quotes given to the media. The fact that players are more and more aware that this is a business and are making business decisions as a result seems only logical.
Regardless of how Dabo feels about Bryant and vice versa, or what ultimately precipitated the change in Dabo's mind that Lawrence was worth the risks of Bryant's transfer, the business decision for him was go with the QB he felt he could win the most games with.
The business decision for Bryant to make is to save his season of eligibility and go play somewhere as a starter next year. His draft stock takes a major hit if his last season reads played parts of 4 games and was passed by a Freshman.
NCAA Football is big business. We shouldn't be surprised when people who are a part of it make business decisions.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
Right now Dabo Sweeney regrets not starting his senior QB in game 5 and then pulling him in favor of his hotshot freshman. Because if his freshman QB gets hurt he will be screwed at that position. Other coaches will think twice before changing personnel before game 5 as well.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
The best players should play, and if Lawrence is better than Bryant, then he should be the one playing. Tough decision to say the least, and Dabo is definitely taking a risk by letting Bryant walk should TL get injured, but he's in the business of winning national championships. These are the kinds of decisions you have to make if you want to win championships. College ball is a business now.
That brings me to my next point. The ACC is pretty down this year. FSU sucks something fierce, Miami is so-so, VT probably just had its worst loss in program history, they don't have ND on the schedule, and the rest of the conference is a whole lot of nothing. Clemson can out-talent all of them en route to an ACC title. I think Swinney wants to get Lawrence as many reps as he can for what should be a fourth straight playoff berth.
Ideally you do NOT want to send Lawrence into a game against against the likes of Alabama, Georgia, OSU or Oklahoma with minimal experience. I think Swinney just decided Lawrence gives the offense a spark that Bryant unfortunately never did. Both of them could lead Clemson to an ACC title, but who gives them a better shot at a national title? If it's Lawrence, you might as well start getting him as many reps as you can, and as quickly as you can.
September 26th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
Good for Kelly. Coaches can up and leave whenever a new opportunity comes up. I'm glad the new redshirt rule is giving some more power to the players
September 26th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
Coaches don't leave midseason though. All for kids leaving bad situations, but quitting on your teammates midseason just doesn't work for me
September 26th, 2018 at 11:32 AM ^
The team thing gets me too. But Kelly made the right decision. Sitting on the bench for the year doesn't get him to the pros. A year starting, and making a big difference, for Auburn or whoever, could get him there.
You want to go with the best player, but how big of a difference is there between the players? Dabo didn't show loyalty to Kelly and so there is no reason to show loyalty to Dabo. I like the redshirt option as it'll make the coaches think twice before throwing someone to the curb. Dabo's going to regret his decision when the freshman gets hurt.
Reminds me of the Henson/Brady thing. I was always a Brady guy and thought Henson needed to earn it.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^
I disagree about going to Auburn.
1. No guarantee he is a starter and then what?
2. He already has starting experience. His best decision is to shut up and be a good teammate. Work your ass off to get ready for the All Star games, combines and work outs.
3. If he really wants to start he has to step down a level. Why wait an extra year to start for Kansas or USF? If he goes to a bad team he might look worse getting destroyed behind a bad line. Plus another year wasted.
September 26th, 2018 at 1:12 PM ^
3. If he really wants to start he has to step down a level. Why wait an extra year to start for Kansas or USF? If he goes to a bad team he might look worse getting destroyed behind a bad line. Plus another year wasted.
There won't be "an extra year" and no need to drop down to FCS. He would be sitting out the remainder of this season as a redshirt and then immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
The team thing gets me too. But Kelly made the right decision. Sitting on the bench for the year doesn't get him to the pros. A year starting, and making a big difference, for Auburn or whoever, could get him there.
You want to go with the best player, but how big of a difference is there between the players? Dabo didn't show loyalty to Kelly and so there is no reason to show loyalty to Dabo. I like the redshirt option as it'll make the coaches think twice before throwing someone to the curb. Dabo's going to regret his decision when the freshman gets hurt.
Reminds me of the Henson/Brady thing. I was always a Brady guy and thought Henson needed to earn it.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:00 AM ^
I won't relax until Winovich steps on the field this week for his 5th game.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^
When position battles spill into the season from fall camp, coaches are now going to wait till after 5 games to make a decision.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
Clemsoning?
September 26th, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^
I work near Clemson...you will get more grief for saying that word than any other combination of 4 letter words put together to describe someone's mother.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
I live in Greenville and work in Anderson...about 15 miles from campus. Most people down here anointed TL as a TF starter from the minute he committed. I've talked to a handful of fans here in the last hour or so since the news came out and every single person I've talked to is nervous. Not nervous that TL won't be able to lead at the position at the same pace he has or better...but more so that they are 1 hit away from being led by a 3rd string QB.
Most posters on Tigernet are showing more support and thanks versus throwing shade to KB.
In the end, classy move by Dabo to make the QB start announcement before game 5. That's one of the reasons why people down here go nuts for the guy. But I don't think keeping TL as a backup all year would have done any harm. It wasn't like KB was going to lose games for them down the road (before CFP). TL just gives them a better offensive makeup and they score 2-3 more TDs a game. Which they really don't need. They just need to win, not win big.
I'm sure it comes down to the CFP though. Who gives them a better chance to win the championship? I'm thinking Dabo believes that giving TL 9 starts before the CFP is going to give them the best chance to win those last 2 games of the season. But yeah, 1 hit, they could win the ACC still with their 3rd string, but CFP? I doubt it...and most others down here feel the same way.
September 26th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
Schools should start trading players.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
I get the arguments people have against the relaxation of transfer rules, but if your goal is to play on Sunday and you want to make full use of your time, then I think you have to be a bit opportunistic as the rules now allow you to be. Granted, it doesn't make you look like the best team person, but if you're sure about the long game and that long game is the pros, having this sort of out is huge.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^
Coaches around the country will quickly learn that they should've not name the starter before the 5th game
September 26th, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^
Or coaches look like a good guy for doing so. Dabo could have waited one more week and screwed his guy over. Instead he is moving on to the next QB and he gave Bryant a shot at pursuing his dreams elsewhere.
September 26th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
At times like these, I ask myself "what would Saban do?"
Whatever gets wins. Wins trump morals, laws, and crime.
Win enough, and you could shoot a guy on Broadway.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
More power to him. He's a senior and waited behind a Heisman finalist to get his shot. Now he's a senior playing well and he gets benched? It's the coach's decision but it's also a situation where Bryant needs to worry about his next step which is presumably the NFL draft. Not a great situation but I understand his reasoning and I'm glad he has options.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
Is this good for the player? Yes, he gets an opportunity to showcase his skills and improve his chances of pursuing an NFL career.
Is it good for college football overall? Yes, this can lead to more parity as the percentage of the top 130 QBs in college football who get to start somewhere will grow. Bryant is unquestionably a top 130 QB, and thus deserves to start somewhere.
Is it good for Clemson? In the short term, perhaps not, but long term I would argue that yes it is. Clemson can continue to recruit 2 QBs in most of their QB classes as they have been doing, and just let the competition play out. The concern of a QB being a bust goes down when you have other options. Plus, if Clemson finds itself with a void at the position, they can bring in their own transfer!
September 26th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
I feel for the Hurst kid at Bama. Saban totally mislead the Hurst kid just to keep him at Bama as an insurance policy.
September 26th, 2018 at 8:13 PM ^
Yep, he did.
Some people can't read handwriting on the wall, like Jalen Hurts dad, and Brandon Peters parents.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
I see a lot of people arguing against the meritocracy here, its making me confused.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
I don't see this as a big deal. Now he is going to miss the next 8 regular season games, the ACC Championship, and Bowl game. 10 games in total. Missing 10 Games (11 if they go to the Championship game) and ~340 days before playing for another school. In retrospect it's not much if any different as losing a job in camp and deciding to transfer.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:34 PM ^
Please god not Nebraska, but I could see him going out west for some reason
September 26th, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^
This is happening in high school too. Here down in my county, the runner-up State champion last year is now win-less. Why? The coach and some of his assistants moved to another school and took the star players with them. We had another kid that was a star player that abruptly quit after 2nd game, move to another school and is playing for them. All these kids have to do is have someone let them "live" in the schools zone, change address on forms.
September 26th, 2018 at 6:26 PM ^
Happens all over the South. Most kids go to two or three high schools before they find the right fit, or easiest path to a championship.
September 26th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
The only thing with Bryant is that he is definitely a "system" guy in that you have to have an offense that relies heavily on his legs and not his arm. Lots of programs could make due with him, but he's not a Shea Patterson in that you can see an easy path to starting almost anywhere.