Will Clemson have a quarterback battle this year? It’s unlikely. However it hasn't been ruled out.

Last year, starting QB Tajh Boyd was named to the All-ACC team in his first season as a starter. Boyd was the catalyst of the Clemson offense and helped lead the Tigers to the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1981. However, Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris still believes there is more to improve on for Boyd or perhaps another QB in 2012.

"Any time you have a first-team All-ACC quarterback coming back, he's got to be your starter going into the spring," Morris tells Kerry Capps of the Independent Mail in Anderson, S.C. "But with that being said, everybody has to understand -- the running backs, the O-line, and the quarterbacks -- that competition is a healthy thing. Tajh needs to know he has people nipping at his heels, because that's just going to push him and make him better."

"But, yes, Tajh is our starter. Is he going to be pushed? Absolutely. I'm going to push him, and the guys below him are going to push him."

The only QB on the Clemson roster that will most likely ‘challenge’ Boyd is sophomore Cole Stoudt. It’s very doubtful that Stoudt takes the starting job away from Boyd, but he seems to be the best candidate to earn more playing time this fall.

Meanwhile, Morris will also be putting explosive WR Sammy Watkins to the test this spring and throughout the year. Watkins posted incredible numbers for the Tigers last season, but Coach Morris says there is some truth to the so-called ‘sophomore slump’.

“When you look at the history of college football, you’ll see a lot of guys who’ve had great first years,” said Morris during a recent interview with Clemson’s official website. “But then you look and see what they’ve done in their second years – and what you find is that a lot of young guys will follow up a great first year with a down second year."

“That’s the big challenge…And that’s been our challenge to Sammy, and we’ve already talked to him about that.”

Perhaps this is all just blowing smoke to fog up the mirrors, but as a former player, this resonates throughout a player’s body when he hears statements like this. From the outside looking in, many of us know that Boyd and Watkins are the heart to this offense. We watched the duo explode in 2011.

Players do become complacent at times though. The statements made by Coach Morris are more likely directed at trying to get the best out of all of his players; and he’s one of the best coaches in the business at getting that accomplished.