When Clemson announced Trevor Lawrence would start at quarterback Saturday against Syracuse, head coach Dabo Swinney suggested he would still split reps in some capacity with Kelly Bryant.

Instead, Bryant announced his decision to leave the program, taking with him any remnants of Clemson's much-publicized, two-quarterback system.

This is Lawrence's show now.

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By all accounts, the freshman is ready to lead Clemson's offense but Swinney and his staff had a failsafe — Bryant's experience and leadership. If Lawrence were to falter as a first-year starter for a national title contender, Bryant could slide back into his old role, where he took the Tigers to the College Football Playoff last season.

Watch Clemson's game at Texas A&M for proof; it's what Swinney envisioned with the two-quarterback system in the first place.

“We’re very fortunate to have two guys who can play because one of them is going to be hot," Swinney said during his press conference Tuesday. "The chances of them both being cold are probably not real good."

But if Trevor is cold, that senior presence is no longer waiting on the sideline. Redshirt freshman Chase Brice was a consensus top-15 quarterback in his recruiting class but has less game experience than Lawrence.

Clemson's presumed third-string quarterback, true freshman Ben Batson, transitioned to quarterback from safety this offseason and has been sidelined with a broken finger for most of the season.

That's a trio of freshmen with a combined four games of experience under their belts — not what you'd expect from a team with playoff aspirations.

Freshmen have succeeded at this level before; just last year, Jake Fromm led Georgia to the College Football Championship game where he was famously outdueled by Alabama freshman Tua Tagovaiola. But Fromm had Jacob Eason, who started for the Bulldogs in 2016, in the quarterback room, and Tagovailoa had Jalen Hurts, who went 24-2 as a starter for the Tide.

For Lawrence's sake, Clemson fans should hope he learned from Bryant during their time together; nothing anyone with the program has said publicly suggests the opportunities weren't there.

Bryant was one of the most well-liked and respected players on the team — not just for his goofy demeanor but for his leadership. Clemson's quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter said Bryant took an active teaching role among his position group this offseason, regardless of what the outside world had to say about his grip on the starting job.

"Kelly is just that type of guy, he wants to get better and he wants to help people," Streeter said in February. "That’s why he’s such a good leader.”

Lawrence was electric against Georgia Tech in Week 4. He's was about as good as advertised in the three previous weeks, as well. But Bryant's presence and play kept the training wheels on the Trevor Lawrence hype train and while his high school coach calls him mature beyond his years, and his teammates say he doesn't get rattled, we'll soon find out how he performs with no safety net.

It's clear Clemson's coaching staff wanted Lawrence to start; it's doubtful they wanted him to do so without No. 2 nearby.