Dabo Swinney Backs Starting QB After Pulling Uiagalelei for Klubnik

Dabo Swinney made no bones about Clemson's starting quarterback moving forward.

CLEMSON, S.C. — Dabo Swinney made no bones about it: DJ Uiagalelei is Clemson's starting quarterback. 

Despite pulling the junior signal-caller in the third quarter after his third turnover against Syracuse on Saturday for backup freshman Cade Klubnik, the Tigers' head coach is sticking with the veteran. 

"DJ's our starter. DJ's our leader. He just had one of those days, just missed a few plays. But he's earned that. I'll go to battle with that guy any day. He's obviously got to clean it up a little bit on some of the things he did today, but he will. He will." 

Swinney didn't waiver and tried to halt a QB controversy heading into Clemson's off week. Klubnik gave the Tigers a spark in terms of commanding the huddle and not turning the ball over, but the offense relied heavily on Will Shipley and the Clemson defense to rally from an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat Syracuse 27-21.

"For Cade to be able to go in there and the team to be able to see him, be ready, I think that really serves us well as we continue to move forward into the latter part of the season," Swinney said. 

He was especially proud, though, of how Uiagalelei handled the situation. He stayed positive on the sideline and led in different ways, Swinney said. 

"It's a tough situation when you have a moment like that, but again, he was awesome," Swinney said. "You can lead in a lot of ways. Sometimes you just kind of change it up a little bit that's what happened, but it's how you respond. And again, he responded just like the young man of character that he is."

Clemson returns to the field on Nov. 5 at Notre Dame. 

Here are a few other notes from Swinney's postgame press conference: 

• The Tigers set the ACC record for the most consecutive home victories. Swinney said if it was "easy" to win 38 straight, "everybody would do it."
• Swinney said, "crazy stuff happens when we play these dudes." The Tigers have had some wild games against Syracuse. Swinney noted that Clemson had five turnovers in the first seven games but had four against the Orange.  
• Swinney on the bye week: "This is a great time for the break and we'll use it well."
• Swinney said cornerback Fred Davis II had an ankle injury and "just couldn't do it" in this game so he sat out. 
• He said linebacker Barrett Carter, who missed the game with a concussion, was close to playing but just missed getting out of protocol. He'll be ready for the Notre Dame game.

Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today! Get your Tiger tickets from SI Tickets HEREDo us a HUGE favor and like, subscribe and follow us on social media:
►LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allclemson
►SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/AllClemson
►FOLLOW All Clemson on Twitter:https://twitter.com/All_ClemsonMore on All Clemson: /college/clemson/