Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney admonished media members last week for implying that he might consider benching starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. On Saturday, as the Tigers struggled against the Syracuse Orange, he did it anyway.
Uiagalelei, who has struggled on and off all season for the Tigers in spite of their 7-0 start, indeed struggled once more on Saturday. While the Orange raced out to an early 21-7 lead, the quarterback went 13 of 21 for 138 yards and two interceptions before he was benched and replaced by Cade Klubnik.
Anyone who disagreed with Swinney’s decision was quickly dissuaded when Clemson roared back and took a 24-21 lead over Syracuse in the fourth quarter.
Once down 21-7, Clemson has taken a 24-21 lead on Syracuse with 11 minutes to play. pic.twitter.com/RFJpBIeSOu
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 22, 2022
Uiagalelei was a highly touted recruit out of high school with enormous shoes to fill when he followed Trevor Lawrence at Clemson. However, he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype so far in three seasons. While the team is back on track with a Top-5 ranking and undefeated record so far, many believe that the quarterback’s play was holding them back from getting to that next level. It appears that Swinney has finally listened to those concerns as well, which is interesting given how he reacted to a question about it last week.
Dabo last week: “Everybody had their prognostications on when (Uiagalelei) wouldn’t be the starter anymore. People love to do that type of stuff. It’s embarrassing, really. But that’s the world we live in.”
Dabo this week: Benches Uiagalelei
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) October 22, 2022
Life moves pretty fast in college football and if Clemson holds on to defeat Syracuse, we might have seen the end of the D.J. Uiagalelei era.
