CFB Notebook: Furman QB Roberts starts at Clemson, which he attends

Quarterback Harris Roberts of Furman will make his first college start on Saturday at second-ranked Clemson, where he attends classes. Roberts, a fifth-year senior at Furman who graduated with a bachelor's degree in pre-engineering, is enrolled in what is described by the university as a cooperative educational exchange program at Clemson. The program allows students such as Roberts to play a sport at one institution while pursuing their desired degree at another, where the curriculum they need is available. Furman coach Clay Hendrix announced that Roberts will start at quarterback over redshirt freshman JeMar Lincoln, winning a competition that lasted throughout the offseason. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound Roberts, who was elected by his teammates as a captain earlier this year, is pursing his second degree in mechanical engineering, which is not available at Furman. In order to attend Clemson and practice at Furman, Roberts makes the almost-daily 30-mile commute between the two campuses. Roberts was the primary backup to Furman quarterback PJ Blazejowski last season, completing 9 of 13 passes for 110 yards. He also carried the ball five times for 71 yards, with a long of 44. "We played Michigan State a couple of years ago, and we played N.C. State last year," Roberts said. "I'm not familiar with those schools and those stadiums at all when we pull up on their campus. But I've parked behind Memorial Stadium (at Clemson) for the past year. I walk past it every day." But Saturday will be the first time he steps inside the stadium they call "Death Valley." --New UCLA coach Chip Kelly announced that Wilton Speight, a graduate transfer from Michigan, will start the Bruins' season opener against Cincinnati on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Speight beat out redshirt sophomore Devon Modster and true freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Kelly said earlier in the week that those three separated themselves from redshirt sophomore Matt Lynch, redshirt freshman Austin Burton and freshman walk-on Josiah Norwood. Speight started 16 of the 23 games he played during his career at Michigan, receiving third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2016. He sustained a back injury early in the fourth game last season and did not return. The 6-foot-6, 232-pound Speight passed for 3,192 yards and 22 touchdowns with 10 interceptions during his career at Michigan. "(Kelly) and I talked a lot about how he ran things with Nick Foles, Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez (in the NFL)," Speight said recently. "The success that he had with those guys, they could move but obviously weren't dual threat. I saw the success they had and the things he would tweak for those guys. I saw myself doing the same thing." Last season, Modster started two games for UCLA in place of injured starter Josh Rosen (concussion), No. 1 draft choice of the Arizona Cardinals, and Thompson-Robinson was rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback and No. 34 overall player in the 2018 recruiting class, according to ESPN. --Florida State reserve quarterback Bailey Hockman has decided to transfer after losing out in a three-way battle for the starting job, a school spokesman confirmed. Coach Willie Taggart announced earlier this week that junior Deondre Francois will start the 19th-ranked Seminoles' season opener against No. 20 Virginia Tech on Monday. Hockman was at Thursday's practice but absent Friday. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound Hockman, a left-hander from Powder Springs, Ga., has not decided which school he will attend next. After Francois was announced as the starter, with sophomore James Blackmon as his backup, Hockman seemed resigned to staying with the Seminoles. "Of course, we were upset at first, but it's about winning ball games and whatever gives us the best chance to win is what I think is right," Hockman said after the announcement. "I'll do whatever I can to help this team." Hockman, a redshirt freshman, was Florida State's scout team quarterback last season when Francois started for the second straight season but went down with a right knee injury in the opener. Blackmon took over and was the starter for the rest of the season. Hockman's departure leave Francois and Blackman as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the Florida State roster, and there is some concern because Francois has yet to really test his surgically repaired knee.