Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei benched after throwing pick six

Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has been benched. The sophomore signal-caller entered the season with plenty of hype, landing on Heisman favorite lists and racking up NIL deals.

Expected by many to be the next great Tigers quarterback, Uiagalelei has now been benched Saturday afternoon at Pitt in the third quarter. After throwing an interception returned for a touchdown on a shovel pass, he was pulled out in favor of Taisun Phommachanh. Clemson currently trails 21-7.

He is 11-of-23 for 101 yards and two picks.

Uiagalelei has struggled this season from the beginning. In the season opener, his lack of pocket awareness was obvious. He has made careless plays, for example, the one made Saturday afternoon at Pitt. And while Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has said players around Uiagalelei need to play better, the quarterback is obviously still struggling.

He is not the first Heisman favorite to be benched. Spencer Rattler at Oklahoma was benched in the Red River Rivalry after a slow start, and has not played again after Caleb Williams led Oklahoma to the largest comeback in the history of the rivalry.

A former five-star recruit, Uiagalelei shined in two games last season when Lawrence was in COVID-19 protocol. Against Notre Dame and Boston College, he was 59 of 85 for 781 yards and four touchdowns.

This season has gone quite different.

“Well, do y’all think D.J. was pretty good last year? We were better around him. It’s that simple. When Deshaun [Watson] was here, when Trevor [Lawrence] came here, we were better around those guys,” Swinney said earlier this week.