The Clemson football and baseball teams were closely watching the 2021 MLB Draft unfold over the course of Sunday evening and Monday afternoon.
While Clemson seemed fortunate on Sunday to have neither of its quarterback signees- Bubba Chandler (4-star QB) and Will Taylor (3-star ATH)- drafted in the first-round, things didn’t hold up that way on Day 2 of the MLB Draft.
Chandler was selected with the No. 72 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates and reports coming out are that he plans on signing the deal, which shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Bubba Chandler, who signed as a four-star quarterback with Clemson in the last class, told me he is planning to sign with the Pirates after being selected in the third round of the MLB draft.
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) July 12, 2021
While Chandler’s slot value is $870,000, the overarching belief is that the Pirates were willing to pay over the bonus and that the two parties had reached an agreement before the selection. This is typical in the MLB Draft when it comes to high school prospects.
With Chandler gone, Clemson football fans turned their attention to Will Taylor.
According to reports and what we’ve been told, all accounts say that Taylor will be staying at Clemson.
Taylor was projected to go as high as No. 9 overall in the MLB Draft and it looks as if he has made the decision to stay in college for the next three years to play both football and baseball.
While having Taylor is absolutely a big deal for both the football and baseball programs, it’s not going to be the major difference-maker for the Tigers at quarterback.
With Chandler gone, Clemson is down to just D.J. Uiagalelei, Hunter Helms, Will Taylor and preferred walk-on Billy Wiles as its healthy options. Taylor was expected to learn the quarterback position during his freshman season and then transition to wide receiver. The Tigers had been vocal about him potentially becoming a ‘utility player’ for the offense.
While Taylor has played the position in high school and has had success, there’s still going to be a significant drop-off between Uiagalelei and whoever wins the second-string job. Keep in mind that Taylor- who was recruited as an athlete- also didn’t arrive on campus until this summer and the idea has always been to focus on his development, rather than what he could bring to the table immediately as a freshman.
So, where does that leave Clemson football at the quarterback position? The Tigers will be walking on thin ice as they look to find the happy balance between running the offense at full-strength and keeping D.J. Uiagalelei healthy.
It still wouldn’t be surprising, in my opinion, if Clemson went after a quarterback in the NCAA Transfer Portal, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet and we’re just a couple of weeks out from the start of preseason camp.