What Dabo, Trevor Lawrence expect from Chase Brice this season at Duke
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney last season maintained that the Tigers had the two best quarterbacks in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Trevor Lawrence and Chase Brice.
Now the two former teammates will have the opportunity to prove Swinney right.
Lawrence is back at Clemson for his junior year and is the Heisman favorite entering 2020, while Brice is set to make the first start of his college career this weekend after earning the starting QB job for Duke. The Georgia native transferred to Duke this offseason in search of more playing time.
The Blue Devils will open their 2020 campaign Saturday afternoon at 2:30 against Notre Dame, while Clemson’s season opener is set for Saturday night at 7:30 at Wake Forest. That will allow Lawrence a chance to watch his close friend play before the Tigers depart from the team hotel to face Wake Forest.
“I was talking on the phone with him (last) weekend. I told him, ‘I’m going to be watching your game as much as I can.’ We’ll probably get a half in or so,” Lawrence said. “But I’m so excited to see him play. Just to see him do what he’s been doing here but hasn’t really had the opportunity to do it every Saturday. So I’m really excited for him and can’t wait to watch him.”
Brice was not promised the starting job when he left Clemson to go play at Duke for coach David Cutcliffe, but he did enough during fall camp to earn the nod.
Brice was announced as the Duke starter over the weekend after spending three seasons at Clemson and then leaving as a grad transfer. He completed 50 of 85 passes for 581 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception last year. Swinney supported Brice when he made the decision to transfer and still supports him now.
“I actually talked to Chase (Monday) as a matter of fact. Just touched base with him, congratulated him on winning the job, and just caught up with him,” Swinney said. “Coach Cut’s been doing this a long time, and you go win that job, you’ve had to win it. So I’m really happy for him. Proud of him that he went in and took his preparation and was able to go win the job. Now it’s just go play on gameday.”
The highlight of Brice’s Clemson career was leading the Tigers to a win over Syracuse in 2018 after Lawrence was knocked out of the game with an injury.
Swinney expects plenty of more highlights to come from his former backup QB now that Brice is with the Blue Devils.
“I don’t know much about their team or personnel right now, but I know a lot about Chase and I know he’ll be well-prepared,” Swinney said. “He’ll be ready. He’ll lay it on the line for his team, and he’ll give them a chance to be successful, no doubt about it.”
Duke at Notre Dame: What time, what channel
When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana
TV: NBC
