Dabo Swinney reveals plan to permanently move a quarterback to receiver

Clemson’s freshman dual-sport athlete Will Taylor is permanently adding another position to his resume.

According to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, the quarterback is in the process of making a more permanent move to the wide receiver position after a tumultuous freshman year.

“He’ll move to wideout. He’s full-time wideout,” Swinney said Wednesday. “We were able to do what we wanted to do, and we were kinda in that process of really kinda transitioning him more and getting ready to take off with him, and obviously he got hurt there right out of the gate. I guess that was the second play of the fifth game that he got hurt.”

After suffering a non-contact injury against Boston College on Oct. 2, it was confirmed Taylor tore his ACL. Up until that point, he had not thrown a pass, but he had five carries for 20 yards and caught two passes for six yards. In addition to his numerous skill position roles, Taylor was Clemson’s primary punt returner from the start of the season, playing that role since Clemson played Georgia on Sept. 4.

“We actually did that the last half of the season,” Swinney added. “We moved him on in there and got started with that process once he got hurt.”

Taylor has good hands, as he was also set to play center fielder for the Tigers. The South Carolina native was selected in the 19th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, but he chose to head to Clemson as a two-sport athlete. Prior to making the decision to go to college, he was projected as a first-round selection.

While Taylor will practice next year as a wideout, if Clemson has future issues at the quarterback position, Swinney will always have his arm in his back pocket.

“But he’ll always be that guy for us, if we need it,” Swinney said. “So it was a good plan.”

The move for Taylor comes as Clemson has a returning starter under center in D.J. Uiagalelei, and they signed the top quarterback in the 2022 class on Wednesday in Cade Klubnik. The five-star incoming freshman could compete for the starting job next season.

Additionally, Clemson could use pass catchers after wide receivers Ajou Ajou and Frank Ladson entered the transfer portal this month. The Tigers signed two four-star wideouts on Early Signing Day in Adam Randall and Antonio Williams. Taylor and Williams were teammates at Dutch Fork High School.