After D.J. Uiagalelei struggled to open the ACC Championship Game on Saturday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney made the move to highly-touted freshman Cade Klubnik.
This isn’t the first time Swinney has benched Uiagalelei this season, but this demotion feels more permanent than the others. Klubnik went 20-of-24 passing for 279 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing score in the Tigers’ 39-10 win over UNC.
Swinney has already said Klubnik will start Clemson’s bowl game, so we might have seen the last of Uiagalelei in a Tigers uniform. It’s been a strange decline for the former five-star recruit over the last two seasons.
After the game Saturday night, Uiagalelei was mum on his future, saying he is focusing on the team winning the ACC and “putting my best foot forward” over the next month.
Despite Uiagalelei’s issues at Clemson, he would have no shortage of suitors should he enter the transfer portal.
Because of his five-star pedigree and physical tools, as well as his big game experience, there will be dozens of programs interested in taking in the embattled QB for the next season or too.
In the meantime, it looks like the Klubnik Era has officially arrived.