Clemson's quarterback battle has officially come to an end ... at least for now.
Clemson released its first depth chart of the season on Monday ahead of its season opener against Furman, and Kelly Bryant was listed at QB1.
Bryant had been in a competition with five-star freshman Trevor Lawrence and redshirt freshman Chase Brice for the job. Still, even if he was coy about it the entire time, coach Dabo Swinney hinted all offseason that Bryant was the most likely option for Clemson.
This makes sense. Bryant is a senior who started 14 games last year and has played in 25 during his career at Clemson. Last season, he threw for 2,802 yards and 13 touchdowns, rushed for another 665 yards and 11 touchdowns, and ultimately led the Tigers to an ACC title and a College Football Playoff berth.
When talking about winning the job, Bryant told reporters he briefly considered transferring this offseason.
"It crossed my mind, but I feel like if I would've left would I have been doing the same thing, had to go out, prove myself, compete again," Bryant said. "But that's not in my character to just leave like that, especially with the guys I came in with being a big, tight group. We've done so much."
Of course, just because Bryant will begin the season as the starter does not mean he's guaranteed to finish there. Should Bryant struggle at any point during the regular season, there's always a chance Swinney could decide to make a change. And there would be a lot of pressure to bring in the blue-chip freshman Lawrence to at least see what he can do considering he could play in four games and still claim a redshirt per amended NCAA rules.
It will be interesting to see how Clemson and its fans treat the situation this season. It could end up feeling like a repeat of what we saw at Alabama last year with Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.
