Clemson’s Swinney deserves credit for going with dual-QB attack

By Marc Hudgens  |   Thursday, October 30, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

Clemson Tigers
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Historically, conservative college football programs and their fans cringe at the very thought of using two quarterbacks in a game, thinking it’ll only confuse the offense and subvert leadership. Flawed thinking in today’s college football world, especially when more than a few schools have won big utilizing two signal-callers.

Florida featured pro-style Chris Leak and a pre-Heisman dual threat Tim Tebow in its 2006 BCS championship campaign. Last season, Virginia Tech alternated Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon en route to its second ACC title inside four years. Oregon has sported three gunslingers this year, going to/from Justin Roper to/from Jeremiah Masoli to/from Chris Harper to put the Ducks second in the Pac-10 standings.

With its inept offensive line, Clemson must think outside the traditional box if it’s to have any chance of salvaging a season that is all but buried. So, you have to give a standing ovation to Tigers iterim skipper Dabo Swinney for doing just that. Swinney will be using both the seasoned Cullen Harper (pro-style starter) and dual-threat freshman phenom Willy Korn.

“I would love nothing more than to use both of those guys to their strengths the rest of the way, or at least see how it goes,” Swinney said. “The biggest thing is, they deserve to play, both of them. I want competition, and that’s what we’ve got.”

Expect to see both get considerable playing time this Saturday in Chestnut Hill as Clemson faces Atlantic Division nemesis Boston College. Both QBs possess a different skill set, which is only advantageous. Moreover, what does Clemson have to lose at this point by doing it?

Will this actually work and produce Clemson’s first post-Tommy Bowden win? Maybe not, but you have to give credit to Swinney, a former Gene Stallings protégé, for not trying the same old thing and expecting a different result like previous administrations have done.

Even if it doesn’t work this weekend, Swinney should stick with the two-quarterback system until the end of the year. It'll give Korn plenty of meaningful game experience as he prepares for next season, not to mention that it'll let Harper finish out the campaign with dignity.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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