Dabo Swinney admitted Tuesday that Monday was "a bad day to be a head coach" because of what he described as an emotional conversation with Kelly Bryant.
Wednesday did not get any better for Clemson's head coach.
Three days after being informed by Clemson assistant coach Brandon Streeter he would not be starting Saturday's game with Syracuse, Bryant has decided to transfer. The story was first reported by The Greenville News.
On Monday, Clemson announced that freshman Trevor Lawrence would start Saturday's game and after an that meeting with Swinney, Bryant was given the night off from practice. After he missed Tuesday's workout, that fueled speculation he might be leaving and now that is what will happen.
Under the new NCAA redshirt guidelines, by leaving Clemson now, the former Wren standout does not lose his final year of eligibility. He has not decided where he will play his final season.
“I feel like it's what's best for me and my future,” Bryant said in an exclusive interview with The Greenville News.
“I was just going to control what I could control and try to make the most of my opportunity, but at the end of the day, I just don't feel like I’ve gotten a fair shot.
It was Swinney who described the meeting with Bryant as emotional and the coach spent a good portion of his Tuesday news conference talking about how he loved Kelly like a son and if Bryant did decide to transfer, Swinney would be "disappointed" but would understand the reasoning.
“They asked me how I felt about it,” Bryant said, recalling his meeting with Swinney.
“I was like, ‘I’m not discrediting Trevor. He’s doing everything asked of him, but on my side of it, I feel like I haven't done anything to not be the starter. I've been here. I've waited my turn. I've done everything y’all have asked me to do, plus more.’
“I've never been a distraction. I've never been in trouble with anything. To me, it was kind of a slap in the face.”
In 18 games, Bryant was 16-2 as a starter. If he gets a 19th game as the starter, it will be at another program. One school that could be a landing spot is Arkansas who is led by former Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris.
“I’ve been with this senior class for four years," Bryant said.
"Seeing how much we built and poured into this program, it's tough to walk away from it,” Bryant said. “But at the same time, I’ve got to do what’s best for me. And I feel like this is the best situation for me.”