Clemson Football: Backup QB battle will continue into fall

The 2020 Clemson football team had its spring practice cut short and that will lead to an extended battle for the back-up QB position.

The 2020 Clemson football spring camp was cut short due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, but the Tigers still had the opportunity to have nine practice sessions and determined quite a bit moving forward.

One of the areas that will be continue to be up-in-the-air, though, is the back-up quarterback position.

Redshirt-freshman Taisun Phommachanh and true-freshman D.J. Uiagalelei entered the spring with a major battle brewing. Both quarterbacks are looking to gain playing time and become the second-string behind Trevor Lawrence for the 2020 Clemson football season.

The winner of the battle will have the inside track on the starting job when the Tigers take the field in 2021.

With spring practice being cut short, though, we’ll continue to see this position battle through the summer and into fall camp.

Analysis:

As of right now, one would still think that Phommachanh- who has been in the system for more than a year now- has the inside track and is considered the second-stringer behind Lawrence, at least for the time being.

But you simply can’t ignore the pure skill set of Uiagalelei.

Any personnel who was on hand for any of the Clemson football practices can’t deny that Uiagalelei doesn’t look like a freshman. He is big and has a powerful arm. He’s a guy that will stand out when you see the team lining up on the sidelines and he’s a quarterback who simply hasn’t come to Clemson expecting to sit on the bench.

Uiagalelei’s plan is to earn that second-string spot during the preseason, earn playing time throughout the season behind Lawrence, and then become the next face of the Clemson football program.

Will Phommachanh- the dual-threat gunslinger- have anything to say about it?

It should be interesting to watch how this quarterback battle progresses when the Tigers pick back up with practice in August. Until then, though, we’ll have to continue wondering.