From: Austin
What to do with Tajh Boyd is the burning question facing the clemsen coaching staff over the next few weeks. With arguably the toughest portion of the schedule remaining, the 4-4 tigers face a tough dilemma in possible playing time for the redshirt freshman. The overriding issue will be that Boyd will be the only returning QB on the roster next season. The only one! Both Kyle Parker (baseball) and Michael Wade (graduation) will not return for the 2011 campaign. Chester's Tony McNeil and the guy who just decommitted from Wyoming will join the group in the summer. So, what do they do with Boyd, now that they sit at 4-4?
The play Boyd crowd will say that the hopes of an ACC championship are lost, and so the tigers need to look ahead and prepare their future QB with hopes of limiting losses in the upcoming seasons. He was less than stellar in spring and fall practice. The time played against real competition will season him for his role as the starter. That is about the only argument for this side. Then the question would be---How much do you play him?
The 2010 edition of the tigers are not showing the ability to put up a lot of points. When Boyd plays, the chance of the drive producing points will be lower. Should this contribute to a loss, the effects could be far reaching. clempson needs to win 2 of its next four games to squeak into a bowl. If they fail to qualify, Boyd would miss out on a month of valuable practice time. Also, if he plays and stinks it up, then commits may decide to play elsewhere rather than play on a subpar team. He may show improvement, but most recruits will not decide to play for clemmons to play with Tajh Boyd.
Then, there is the Kyle Parker effect. Obviously, Parker is not the QB the tiger faithful felt he was when CJ Spiller and Jacoby Ford are not in the offense. Parker is not bad, but he is not the high NFL draft pick that Coach Swinney led him to believehe was. Should Dabo feel obligated to play Parker because he gave up so much money to return to clempson for 2010? I most likely would if I were he. Whether Dabo inflated Parker's self worth or possessed unrealistic expectations for his team that were projected onto his QB, Parker bought a bill of goods. What to do? What to do? To beat NC State, the offense will need to score more than 3 points.
