2011 Clemson Pre-Camp QB Analysis

The QB position was scrutinized by nearly everyone for the past year or so. We had a few changes related to the position since the end of the 2010 season. First and foremost, QB coach and offensive coordinator Billy Napier was removed and replaced by Tulsa's Chad Morris. Morris now runs the offense and coaches the quarterbacks.  Two year starter Kyle Parker is a full time baseball player in the Rockies farm system and is no longer part of the Clemson football program. Here is our February assessment of Napier and the Quarterbacks.

Napier's departure and Morris' insertion to this staff moves from an I-formation,"traditional" philosophy to a spread-formation HUNH strategy. As for quarterback coaching, Morris appears to be more detail oriented and will require improved mechanics from pre-camp starter Tajh Boyd.  Parker, under Napier's watch, had some arm positioning and weight distribution issues that were never completely addressed while at Clemson. He would constantly throw off his back foot, sidearm, or across his body. We talked about shortcomings within the coaching staff some within this article and really think that Morris will provide better instruction on the fundamentals than Napier. We expect better player development under Morris' guidance. 

Returning Quarterbacks

Clemson returns Tajh Boyd as the primary player. Ogle and McElveen are walk ons and saw very limited playing time last season.  They will see more of the same.  Boyd is the incumbent starting quarterback because of Kyle Parker's departure. Boyd did not get the repetitions last season that a lot of us expected, and after the SF game we mentioned (in the review) that we felt he'd be alright if he got more game reps, and that the fans boo-hooing his development and recruiting rankings werent giving him a fair shake yet. He attempted more than 10 passes in just two contests in 2010 (South Carolina and South Florida) and made appearances in seven (7) of Clemson's 13 contests.  Needless to say, Boyd has limited in-game experience. He'll get it now, but are we looking at a Willie Simmons situation again?

Boyd's footwork issues were documented by Morris this Spring and we discussed some arm issues that we saw earlier. Morris has commented that he expected Boyd to be further along fundamentally than he actually was in the Spring. There is no reason to believe that The Chad won't have these items corrected by the beginning of September. We'll hold Morris' feet to the fire if he doesnt. The other item of concern is the new Clemson offense. Boyd has a new system to master. Learning a new offense involves a significant amount of study time. Fortunately, Morris reported last week that he was pleased with the amount of work Boyd has put into fundamental development and learning the new offense.

There is no substitution for real game play, so we expect some growing pains early in the year while Boyd gets acclimated to gameplay and the new offense. We also expect continuous improvement over the course of the season, particularly through decision making and overall execution, even if he's not lighting up scoreboards. Please keep in mind that Boyd is more of a pocket passer than a running player. That doesn't mean that he's not capable of running but is more comfortable in the pocket and gaining yardage with his arm. Before his HS knee injury he was quite mobile and a dual threat, but we havent seen that here yet.

Meet the New Guys

Tony McNeal and Cole Stoudt enrolled at Clemson in January and participated in Spring drills. Stoudt left this session as the clear backup to Boyd heading into fall camp. McNeal is talented but raw and is not ready for major college football. He will redshirt in 2011.  We said this about the two freshmen in April:

Cole Stoudt has been very impressive. He has shown that he can read the defense as good as or better than Boyd and he's physically not very far behind him. Ball velocity is good and if his happy feet gets corrected he's going to be good. His NFL pedigree is showing, his dad taught him well. Could be a Simmons/Whitehurst situation. McNeal has arm strength but is more raw.

Many folks are extremely high on Cole Stoudt and have speculated that he'll take over the starting job if Boyd can't get up to speed and going quickly enough. Hold your horses. The coaches did state that Stoudt picked up the scheme well and is closer than you would think to Boyd, but no reps in live situations counts for a lot at QB. I am not saying that Stoudt will or will not overtake Boyd, but I am saying that the staff has a lot of confidence in this young man despite being a true freshman.

Tony McNeal will take a redshirt this season barring some stunning action over the next month or so.  He needs the development year that a redshirt allows.  We'll follow his progression through camp and leading the scout team over the course of the year.

Morgan Roberts is someone we don't think Clemson should've offered at all considering the tightness of numbers and that you never bring in 3 scholarship quarterbacks at once. We're still kind of scratching our heads here as to why you'd take him at all, but he was told to report and that he'd be on scholarship this fall. He could get the 3rd team spot because we don't feel like he's worth putting a RS on. Don't take it as a sign that he's great, or that McNeal sucks, if Tony gets a RS and Roberts doesnt. Personally, we don't see how you'd take this kind of player and force yourself to turn away talent later.

We don't expect the other walk-ons to get much press (or reps), but you will probably see one of them listed at 3rd string QB this fall.

This job is Tajh Boyd's to lose, and how good a season we have in 2011 really depends on his progression. If a freshman gets the job (barring injury), it'll mean that we lost the first 3 tough games (or worse) of this season, and nobody wants that. We think he can do it, if he gets the reps. Tajh will have to learn to take care of the football better than he showed in limited action last year, and it is something that Morris has harped on with him thus far. He has the other intangibles (work ethic, confidence, energy) that you want from your leader, and he has to put it together and lead this team where we believe it deserves to be.