D.J. Uiagalelei Earns Clemson's Backup QB Spot

Clemson true freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei appears to have separated himself from Taisun Pommachanh, plays in first career game Saturday night in Winston-Salem

Clemson's quarterback room is among the best in the entire country and football fans were champing at the bit to learn who would be Trevor Lawrence's backup this season. 

Throughout fall camp and preseason prep, Clemson coaches were rather mum on naming a frontrunner between D.J.Uiagalelei and Taisun Pommachanh. 

Saturday night, at least for the time being, everyone finally got the answer they'd been searching for as it was Uiagalelei who took the field first once Lawrence's night was complete. 

Guess who just entered the game at quarterback... pic.twitter.com/huq9xbpKCM

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) September 13, 2020

Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said that ultimately it was a decision made by Clemson quarterback's coach and passing game coordinator, Brandon Streeter. 

"As I've said before that was going to be a Coach Streeter and Coach (Dabo) Swinney decision and I would know (the backup) when you guys did," Elliott said during his post-game Zoom interview late Saturday night. "I thought D.J. had a really good camp and come into his own in terms of handling the offense and being able to handle all the motions, shifts, and different things that we do." 

Elliott said he felt confident in Uiagalelei's ability to fully understand his responsibilities in all aspects of the offense. However, he said Pommachanh held his own as well through the offseason and either could have been the first to trot onto the field Saturday night. 

"At the end of the day, Coach Streeter will be able to give you more detail as to why he ran out there. But from my perspective, I thought both of those guys had a great camp," Elliott said. "It was neck and neck and I imagine in the meeting room Coach Streeter must have seen something and felt it gave D.J. the slight advantage to go out there first." 

On the night, neither quarterback made a big splash or led the Tigers on a scoring drive. Uiagalelei was 2-of-3 passing for 16 yards while Pommachanh was 2-of-4 passing for nine yards with an interception. Uiagalelei rushed one time for three yards, and Pommachanh picked up seven yards on his only rush of the night. 

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