What Dabo said about five-star DJ Uiagalelei and Clemson’s backup QB battle
One of the most intriguing battles for Clemson entering fall camp was the backup quarterback job, and with the Tigers’ season-opener at Wake Forest less than three weeks away, it remains an ongoing competition.
Redshirt freshman Taisun Phommachanh and true freshman D.J. Uiagalelei spent the past couple of weeks competing to see who will be the first guy off the bench behind Heisman favorite Trevor Lawrence.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney isn’t ready to name a backup yet but feels good about where all of his QBs are after fall camp wrapped up last week. Clemson players had the weekend off and are practicing this week for the upcoming season. That transitions next week to game prep for opponents they will face early in the season.
“It’s as good a quarterback room as there probably is in the country,” Swinney said.
Phommachanh (pronounced PUMA-chon) arrived at Clemson as “more of a developmental guy,” according to Swinney. He was rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 4 dual-threat QB in the country by the 247Sports Composite ratings for the class of 2019, but he doesn’t posses the same arm strength as former five-star prospects Lawrence and Uiagalelei. Still, Phommachanh is capable of beating out Uiagalelei (pronounced ooh-ee-AHN-guh-luh-lay) for the backup job.
“He looks a lot more comfortable in the pocket. He’s not having issues with the motions like he did in the past. So he looks a lot more calm there,” offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said.
In three games last season, Phommachanh completed 6 of 12 passes for 85 yards, while rushing for 56 yards on 12 carries.
“Man, he’s made huge strides in a year. Very talented,” Swinney said. “They’re different. They’re similar in some regards and they’re different as well. D.J., he’s as advertised. A very, very gifted player. He’s 250 pounds. He’s just not a typical freshman coming in here. He has just really picked things up quickly. It’s a heck of a competition and a great battle. They’re both doing some really good things.”
Uiagalelei was rated as the No. 10 overall player in the country and the top pro-style QB for the class of 2020. Swinney said of Uiagalelei this spring that, “Sometimes he just kind of makes Trevor look normal with his ability to rip that football ... never really seen a guy quite like him.”
Uiagalelei picked up where he left off when Clemson started fall camp.
“He’s so talented ... super strong arm. He just is a good player, good instincts, even though he hasn’t quite figured out all of the offense yet because he just got here,” Lawrence said. “But he just is a good natural player, can run, make people miss, obviously he can escape, do everything you really need from the quarterback position.”
Whoever wins the battle this fall could have a leg up on next year’s starting QB job as Lawrence, a junior, is projected by ESPN’s Todd McShay to be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Phommachanh or Uiagalelei could be needed before then if Lawrence misses any time with injuries or if he enters COVID-19 protocol this fall, or if the season ends up being moved to the spring and Lawrence opts out.
“I think they’re both competing every single day ... every rep counts, every day counts,” Swinney said. “Regardless of how it plays out, I’m confident in both of them. We could win with either one of them, I really believe that. But obviously somebody’s gotta run out there second (behind Lawrence) at some point, so we’ll see how it all plays out.”
