Dabo Swinney says Deshaun Watson will start at QB against North Carolina
After playing most of the game against Florida State, the starting QB job at Clemson is Deshaun Watson's.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday that Watson would start in week five against North Carolina.
"He will get the opportunity to start this week," Swinney said. "I just think that's where we are. He was the player of the game. He played great. He took care of the ball and made some big plays. Really proud of him. You never know until you see them in that situation. We know we have something special in that young man."
Senior Cole Stoudt, who started for Clemson against Georgia and South Carolina State, started against Florida State. But he wasn't incredibly effective in his brief time under center against the Seminoles, rushing four times for 24 yards and completing 3-5 passes for 40 yards.
Watson, who was set to receive some playing time during the game anyway, took over on Clemson's fourth drive of the game and played the rest of the way. He was 19-28 passing for 266 yards and ran the ball 12 times for 30 yards.
Clemson lost 23-17 to the Seminoles in overtime. During its overtime possession the Tigers had fourth-and-a-foot near the 15-yard-line and decided to go for it by running a run play from the shotgun. Clemson RB Adam Choice was stuffed and Florida State took over.
Clemson also had a chance to win the game in regulation but fumbled it away. After Jadar Johnson intercepted Florida State's Sean Maguire with 2:14 left, Clemson's C.J. Davidson fumbled at the Florida State 14 on the Tigers' second offensive play.
Watson, a five-star recruit and No. 1 QB in the class of 2014 according to Rivals is viewed as the future of the Clemson offense. While he was slowly being worked into game action, his eventual insertion into the starting lineup was expected if Stoudt wasn't excelling in his first season as a starter.
Swinney said Sunday that Stoudt was disappointed to not play in the second half on Saturday.
"He was obviously very disappointed, but in the second half I thought he made some good suggestions," Swinney said. "It's a tough situation. It's not as much what Cole did as it is what Deshaun did. The first two games both played well. This game Cole did fine other than that one missed throw, but we have to make that play. Deshaun came in and took us down the field. We went back with him and he just continued to play at a high level. It's a tough thing. We have to make the right decisions. We're going to need Cole and we have to continue to give him an opportunity to compete. We will still get him an opportunity to compete, but we are where we are after three games."
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
