Clemson’s Dabo Swinney compares Virginia QB to one of the all-time greats
Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong has only started one game in his college career, but Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has seen enough to compare him to an all-time great.
Swinney said Armstrong looked like “a young Steve Young out there” last Saturday in Virginia’s 38-20 win over Duke. The sophomore completed 24 of 45 passes for 269 yards against the Blue Devils, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Armstrong also rushed for 47 yards and a score.
“He’s a challenge. He’s a problem. He’s a really good player,” Swinney said. “He looks like a young Steve Young out there. Lefty, crafty, creative, extends plays, tough runner, really good size, accurate thrower, really has no fear. Puts the ball up and trusts his guys to make competitive plays.”
Young, a three-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer, was named the NFL MVP in 1992 and 1994. He starred at BYU before beginning his NFL career and is also in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Armstrong will obviously have a tough time reaching any of those accolades, but Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables echoed Swinney in stating that he was impressive in his first start.
“I thought Armstrong really had a lot of poise and managed the game well and played really big when they needed him to,” Venables said of the 6-foot-2, 215 pounder. “He’s a tough guy to emulate, just his sheer size. He’s a big athlete back there that can throw it and run it both, so a tough guy to emulate to say the least.”
Changing things up for the run down the hill
Game days will look different at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium throughout the 2020 season because of COVID-19, with the latest change for Saturday’s game against Virginia involving Swinney.
Swinney typically looks like a sprinter taking part in a 100-meter dash as he runs down the hill for “the most exciting 25 seconds in college football” in pregame and heads toward midfield, then turns around and high-fives his players as they run by.
Only when Swinney turned around near midfield in the home opener against The Citadel, there was no one there.
With no band on the field for Clemson’s team to run through, the rest of Clemson’s team headed for the sidelines after making it down the hill, instead of running toward midfield like they normally would.
“That’s called being a creature of habit, and I’ma have to coach myself up better. I just came down the hill, and like you normally do, I ran through the band,” Swinney said. “So I get down there and all of a sudden I turn around and I’m like by myself. There’s nobody there. And the team, like most normal people, they just go right on over to the shortest path to the sideline.”
Swinney said he will change things up when the Tigers host Virginia on Saturday. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. and be televised by the ACC Network.
“I’ll go down the hill but I’ll probably go a little bit more towards the sideline,” Swinney said. “It really doesn’t make sense to go all the way to the 50 and turn left. At least our guys, they don’t think that makes sense with nothing to run through. So that’s what we’ll do and it’ll be fun.”
Virginia (1-0) at No. 1 Clemson (2-0)
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina
TV: ACC Network (Dave O’Brien, Tim Hasselbeck, Katie George)
Line: Clemson by 28
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Clemson’s Dabo Swinney compares Virginia QB to one of the all-time greats."
