Swinney Confident Phommachanh Comes Back From Achilles Injury Better Player
Just when it looked like Taisun Phommachanh was finally starting to look comfortable running the Clemson offense, the redshirt sophomore quarterback had a major setback.
Phommachanh suffered a torn Achilles late in the Clemson spring game as he was leading the White team down the field on what would eventually be the game-winning touchdown drive.
"Tough, tough break for Taisun," Dabo Swinney said afterward. "Having his best spring, but really disappointed for him."
In limited action over his first two seasons, Phommachanh had experienced his share of troubles. For his career, he is just 11-29 passing for 73 yards, and during the first half of the spring game, it was more of the same for the young quarterback.
However, as the game wore on, Phommachanh started to settle in and started to resemble the player Swinney described as having a great spring on more than one occasion. He would finish the day 14-25 for 163 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
While the injury may have come at the most inopportune time for Phommachanh, who was slated to be the backup to D.J. Uiagalelei next season, Swinney insists that the quarterbacks best football is still ahead of him.
"He's got four years left of college football," Swinney said. "I think sometimes when you have these type of injuries, it's just so easily magnified. The pain of the moment, especially when you're a young person, and you know, it's just so heartbroken in that moment. But his experience, his knowledge, progress, all these things that he's been able to do, that's not going to go away."
Phommachanh, a four-star prospect in the 2019 class, came to Clemson as a Top-250 player with plenty of upside. While he hasn't developed at the pace some might have expected, Swinney insists that if his quarterback approaches his recovery with the right mindset, he can come out on the other side a better player.
"This is definitely a setback for him, it's a setback for our team," Swinney said. "But, you know, everybody deals with challenges. Everybody deals with setbacks along the way and it's how you respond to those things that really determine everyone's success. I know he's made of the right stuff, I know he'll respond the right way. We'll put a great team around him and get him back better than ever."
Commenting: To sign up for Discus our new commenting system, just use your Twitter, Facebook or email to register and you are in, very easy and quick to sign up! To find the find comment section just look below the Around the Web section below this article and get chatting! We would love to hear your thoughts and have you join our community.
