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.
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.
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.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.