Swinney: 'Not much separation' between Cooper, Johnson at backup QB

Brandon Rink by Staff Writer -

Redshirt freshman quarterback Zerrick Cooper had quarterback coach Brandon Streeter’s trust on the road at Syracuse – and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney trusted Streeter’s assessment.

That’s what Swinney said Monday when asked about the pecking order behind Kelly Bryant in the wake of Bryant’s game-ending injuries in back-to-back contests.

Bryant was knocked out of Friday’s game and put in concussion protocol late in the first half, where Cooper took over and played every offensive snap in Clemson’s final five possessions.

“First of all, I trust my coaches. Brandon Streeter has done a great job,” Swinney said. “He’s got a great track record with these guys. He has great feel. He’s not that far ahead, but Street just felt like in the other night in that situation with a lot of the pressure that Zerrick gave us the best chance to win the game.

“He did some really good things. He took us down and three out of the first four drives, we scored two and missed a field goal.”

Swinney added that he wanted to get “an opportunity” for third-string true freshman Hunter Johnson, but limited chances prevented that.

“It’s not that much separation (between Cooper and Johnson),” Swinney said. “We didn’t have a lot of plays. We only had 57 snaps. I wish we would’ve had an opportunity to get Hunter in there. If we get another opportunity down the road, hopefully, we will.”

Cooper connected on 10-of-14 throws for 88 yards, protecting the ball with no turnovers but going 0-for-4 on conversions with third-down passes.

Clemson did have a chance at three scores in his possessions, also benefiting from an average field position of the Tigers’ 40.

In the Wake Forest game, Johnson completed all five of his throws with a 13-yard touchdown pass in spot duty after Bryant’s ankle injury. Cooper hit 2-of-6 passes for 16 yards as the first off the bench with Bryant out in the 28-14 win.

Swinney said after the Wake Forest game that "both did fine with the opportunities they had."

Johnson's longest action before that game was in the opener versus Kent State, where the former five-star prospect connected on 5-of-6 passes for 39 yards. Cooper threw his first career touchdown pass in the same game, completing 4-of-6 throws for 37 yards.