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New Story: Swinney: Stoudt is the starter, but Watson not backing down
May 17, 2014, 12:07 AM
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Swinney: Stoudt is the starter, but Watson not backing down
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney told TigerNet earlier this week that senior Cole Stoudt is definitely the team's No. 1 quarterback heading into the summer, but he also says that Watson is the kind of player that programs are built around. He also says he doesn't expect Watson to accept being a backup. Full Story » |
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Team Captain [482]
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Re: New Story: Swinney: Stoudt is the starter, but Watson not backing down
May 17, 2014, 3:53 AM
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The competition for starting QB started this week with summer workouts. I will guarantee that it will be wide open til just before the season opener against Georgia. To early to pick a starter, but Watson put up some ferocious numbers before coming to Clemson. He enrolled in January and is familiar with the offense, so time will tell.
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Expert [1376]
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Watching highlights of Watson, one thing that really stands
May 17, 2014, 12:16 PM
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out...
When he's in the pocket, he shows a great ability to move around and extend plays as the pressure comes. He obviously has the skill to tuck and run, but the best thing is that while moving around he's looking down field at multiple receivers. He has great field vision. He doesn't lock in on a specific guy and finds the open receiver time and time again as he's creating time behind the line of scrimmage. He can run if needed, but he doesn't panic. He shows poise and looks for a play downfield. Taking off and running is his last choice.
As great as Tajh was for our program, he lacked these skills. He had a tendency to lock in on guys and would give up on plays too quickly. Very often there were receivers open downfield as plays broke down, but field vision, especially improvisational ability, just wasn't there. A substantial portion of our sack numbers were due to a lack of escapability and improvisational skills. That' not a knock on Tajh at all. He had a great skill set, but these things were missing components in our offense.
Boyd's deep ball accuracy and his ability to lower the shoulder to get first downs will surely be missed. It was nice to know that on 3rd an 2 you could almost bank on him being able to get it. Watson doesn't appear to have that size, at least not at this point.
But it will be fun watching the multi-headed monster our offense can become. Watson's completion numbers show great accuracy. He has quickness and can make plays in called runs. A huge factor that we haven't seen in this offense is his ability to create time, move around in the pocket, and ultimately find the open man downfield. If he must tuck and run, he's obviously a threat there as well. Assuming it all translates well at 1-A level, how do you stop it?
I like Cole, a lot, but I suspect Watson's skill set will be seen sooner rather than later. Regardless of how Cole does as starter, I think Kelly's dismissal was the deciding factor on Watson's redshirt. If Cole can carry us all year, that would be great, but I'm excited to see the new weapons Watson brings to the table.
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Amateur [39]
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Re: New Story: Swinney: Stoudt is the starter, but Watson not backing down
May 17, 2014, 3:12 PM
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Playing Watson early to get "game" experience is imperative. Not only is he 1 snap away from being the starter, but defenses will now have twice as much to prepare for........
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