Clemson football: D.J. Uiagalelei behind J.T. Daniels in QB rankings

Clemson football fans are excited about the prospect of what QB D.J. Uiagalelei is going to bring to the position and the program over the next two seasons.

Uiagalelei started just two games last year- replacing Trevor Lawrence when he was out- but in those two starts, he threw for nearly 800 yards and accounted for six touchdowns with no interceptions.

Though the Tigers didn’t get the win against Notre Dame on the road in one of his starts, you can’t help but be impressed with his poise- as that Notre Dame crowd may have been the rowdiest home field we saw all season anywhere- and he continuously made plays to keep the Tigers in the game, but a depleted defense could never come up with a stop when it mattered most.

Now, as we prepare for the 2021 season, the Clemson football QB is starting out ranked highly on most lists but he’s not at the top

247 Sports released its projections for the top quarterbacks in the nation during the 2021 season and had this order for their top-five:

1. Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma)
2. Sam Howell (UNC)
3. JT Daniels (Georgia)
4. D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson)
5. Brock Purdy (Iowa State)

Here’s what 247 had to say about Uiagalelei as he takes over the starting position for Clemson:

"Don’t expect much production drop-off at the quarterback position for the Tigers despite losing projected No. 1 overall pick and transcendent prospect Trevor Lawrence. Uiagalelei started against Notre Dame as a true freshman in South Bend and played fearless as Clemson nearly upended the Irish. Across nine games, Uiagalelei was responsible for nine total touchdowns as a passer who mixed it up between the tackles now and again thanks to his Ben Roethlisberger-type size at 6-4, 250 pounds. Depth is a concern behind Uiagalelei after second-team option Taisun Phommachanh suffered a serious injury earlier this month in the spring game. Uiagalelei has a chance to rise in these rankings to the top spot by season’s end."

Uiagalelei is the only quarterback in the top-five who wasn’t a full-time starter by season’s end last fall.

Though JT Daniels took some time coming back, he eventually did win the starting job at Georgia from Stetson Bennett and he threw for 10 touchdowns in his four starts. The other three QBs- Purdy, Howell and Rattler- were all full-time starters last season.

So, in a way, this is massive respect for Uiagalelei to already be considered at the top with these guys.

In other ways, though, it’s major disrespect to have him ranked just fourth when anyone who has watched the film of all these guys knows who really reigns true as the best quarterback.

Rattler is good and he’s going to be a top-10 pick. The same can be said for Sam Howell, most likely. JT Daniels? Not so sure about that one.

It’s not to say that Daniels’ athleticism and arm talent won’t be amplified at Georgia but you have to look at what he’s done through his entire career leading up to that point. Nothing from what he’s done so far- even in the games he played with UGA last season- would lead me to believe that he’s going to have a better season than Uiagalelei.

That being said, the beauty of this conversation is that it’s going to be settled on the field.

We’re going to get to see Uiagalelei and Daniels battle it out and we’ll know who the better QB is just a few hours into the 2021 season.

Rankings are fun, but we all know that Clemson football fans have the complete and utmost trust in Uiagalelei and wouldn’t trade him for any other quarterback in the nation.