Former Clemson quarterback leading a deep playoff run at his new FCS school
A former Clemson quarterback has beaten his old team to the playoffs.
Coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers can clinch their spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff by beating SMU in Saturday’s ACC championship game.
But one-time Clemson quarterback Hunter Helms is already there.
Helms, a former Tigers backup QB who transferred last fall after four seasons, is the current starting quarterback at Rhode Island. He just helped lead the Rams to a win in the first round of the Division I FCS playoffs on Saturday.
Now, he’s set for a Southern homecoming.
After beating Central Connecticut State at home last weekend, Helms and No. 10 Rhode Island (11-2) are traveling down the East Coast to play a second-round game at No. 7 Mercer (10-2), with the winner advancing to the quarterfinal round.
Kickoff from Macon, Georgia is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, about six hours before Helms’ old program, Clemson, plays SMU in the ACC championship game at Bank of America Stadium for a shot an automatic CFP bid and possible first-round bye.
Todd Helms, Hunter’s father, told The State that his son’s phone has been “blowing up” with ticket requests and they’re expecting to travel a “huge crowd” of roughly 30 friends friends and family members from South Carolina to watch Hunter, a West Columbia native, start a second-straight playoff game for his new school.
“I think he’s having a really good time,” Todd Helms said Monday.
Helms, who starred at Gray Collegiate Academy in high school, walked on at Clemson in 2020 despite holding a number of FBS scholarship offers and spent four seasons backing up Trevor Lawrence, DJ Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik.
After earning his degree from Clemson, Helms entered the portal as a graduate transfer and ultimately signed with FCS Rhode Island, which competes in the classification below Clemson and other FBS schools, that January.
Up until a few weeks ago, Helms had been in an extended quarterback battle with Virginia Tech transfer Devin Farrell. Farrell started the season opener, but URI didn’t formally name a starter and used a “hot hand” approach early on in the season.
In a Nov. 9 game against Delaware, though, Farrell suffered a season-ending injury to his throwing hand, thrusting Helms into a full-time role. Helms was 15-23 for 181 yards, two touchdowns and an interception off the bench that day in a close loss.
With Helms as its starting quarterback, Rhode Island’s nationally ranked squad has gone on a three-game winning streak and hit historic milestones.
Rhode Island’s special season
URI finished the regular season with back-to-back wins against Albany and Bryant to win a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title, which marked its first conference title of any kind in 39 years, and recorded its first 10-win regular season.
The Rams then qualified for the FCS playoffs as an at-large team and beat Central Connecticut State at home, 21-17, for their first playoff win since 1985. Coach Jim Fleming’s Rams also won an 11th game for the first time in program history.
Playing in relief of Farrell, Helms has thrown for 200-plus yards in three straight games. He has 1,004 passing yards, five total touchdowns and eight interceptions this season, with the majority of his production coming since early November.
Todd Helms said it took a while for his son to get acclimated at Rhode Island. Forever a Southern boy, Hunter didn’t love the 14-degree weather and foot of snow awaiting him once he signed and made his way to campus in February 2024.
“I don’t think the sun ever came out,” Todd Helms joked.
But now, Hunter has “made a lot of friends, he’s doing really well and the team’s doing well,” his father said. “I hate that Devin got hurt, but I’ll tell you what: Hunter and Devin together are the reason Rhode Island’s won 11 games.”
Hunter has also maintained a close relationship with his former program. He left Clemson on good terms, with Swinney telling him he felt the QB had done things the “right way” by playing four years and graduating before transferring.
When Clemson played a Nov. 16 road game at Pitt this season, a number of Tigers players who were either injured or didn’t make the travel roster for that game — led by Helms’ old roommate, walk-on safety Bubba McAtee — took a flight to Rhode Island to watch Helms start a home game against Albany.
Next up for Helms and Rhode Island: a road game at No. 7 Mercer on Saturday. The winner of that game will move on to play either No. 2 South Dakota State or No. 15 Abilene Christian in an FCS quarterfinal game the following weekend.
Regardless of how the season finishes, Todd Helms said the family is thrilled at how things have gone for Hunter, who has one year of eligibility remaining after 2024 and is leaning toward a career in coaching once he’s done with football.
“Everybody thought he was gonna transfer out of Clemson (earlier), but he stayed four years and graduated,” Todd Helms said. “And now he’s really being rewarded.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2024 at 1:28 PM.
