Clemson Football: QB DJ Uiagalelei is ready to contribute

QB Chase Brice announced that he would be transferring out of the Clemson football program, opening up a spot for DJ Uiagalelei.

The Clemson football program received expected news that QB Chase Brice would be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal to play his final two years of eligibility elsewhere as a grad-transfer.

Brice had been a consistent back-up for the Tigers during the past two years and was instrumental in Clemson’s path to winning the National Championship in 2018 when he had to step in during the Syracuse game and lead the Tigers to a come-from-behind victory to keep their CFB Playoff hopes alive.

With Brice gone, it opens up an interesting QB competition for the second-string position behind Trevor Lawrence for the 2020 Clemson football season.

It will be redshirt freshman Taisun Phommachanh vs. true-freshman DJ Uiagalelei.

Uiagalelei is rated the No. 1 QB in the nation in the 2020 cycle and just looks different on film when you watch the way he throws the ball and the explosiveness that he plays with.

Though the Tiger coaching staff will give Phommachanh every opportunity to earn the second-string spot- and it will likely be viewed as a co-backup role following the spring- there’s just something special about Uiagalelei.

We’re going to see the talented freshman earn playing time in 2020.

The Clemson football coaching staff is going to be quicker moving on to the second-string QB next season than they were this season. This will be done as a precaution to protect Lawrence and to give Uiagalelei playing time needed to gain experience heading into the 2021 season.

It’s a perfect situation for Clemson football as the Tigers look to slowly transition to the QB of the future following Lawrence’s reign, but one thing’s for sure: Uiagalelei will be ready to contribute when his number is called in 2020.