CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It is the waning moments of happy hour on the firstFridayin December. In roughly 24 hours, Clemson quarterbackKellyBryantwill complete his first 15 throws in the ACC Championship Game and lead the Tigers to a 38-3 victory over Miami, securing the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff for the defending national champions.
He'll look every bit the player who has somehow lived up to and even exceeded near-impossible expectations. A joyous, supersized encore to Deshaun Watson.
But in this moment, two Clemson fans at the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark hotel bar would rather talk about Hunter Johnson, the Tigers true freshman who was widely regarded as one of the nation's most talented quarterbacks last fall.