Clemson’s Kelly Bryant went down with an apparent concussion in the second quarter of Clemson’s game against Syracuse. Coach Dabo Swinney’s halftime interview gave an initial prognosis.
Clemson QB Kelly Bryant leaves game injured against Syracuse
The previously injured Kelly limped through the first half and was taken down hard late in the second quarter.
Bryant went down hard and was down on the turf for a few minutes. He would go straight into the locker room with the aid of Clemson’s medical staff.
Kelly did not look good for most of the first half, and entered the game with an ankle injury suffered against Wake Forest. Our Clemson blog, Shakin’ The Southland, wasn’t thrilled he was in the game.
Bryant seemed like he had trouble scrambling and rolling out of the pocket, and the broadcasters talked about how a hurt ankle can harm a QB’s throwing motion. When you have a situation like this, it can do more harm than good to keep running a QB out there on a gimpy wheel. But the situation is compounded when you have a mobile QB. It effectively handcuffs his game and can put him in compromising situations, which is what happened here.
As for who is coming in in place of Bryant, it could be Zerrick Cooper and/or Hunter Johnson.
Both QBs are effectively tied at No. 2 on the depth chart for the Tigers, and our Tigers blog broke down the QB situation behind Bryant.
Cooper certainly has the tools necessary to be a capable starting quarterback given continued reps and opportunities. However, Cooper still lacks the necessary experience with the offense, and he has been unable to separate himself from Johnson, who just arrived on campus on January. There is a lot to like about Cooper’s skill set, and while a lot of eyes have been on Johnson, the redshirt freshman should not be counted out by any means.
Johnson has arguably the highest ceiling of the three quarterbacks heading into 2017, possessing the best arm of the group while providing the necessary mobility to keep defenses honest. He delivered a beautiful touchdown pass in the spring game to Diondre Overton after recognizing the receiver was in single coverage.
We’ll update this post as we learn more.
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